The Triangle As the Cornerstone of the U.S. Government

Bowen family systems theory (BFST) suggests that emotional triangles and interlocking ones are ubiquitous in human functioning and useful in describing and explaining human behavior. They are the basic building blocks of any emotional system, be it family or any other group (see Bowen, 1978, p. 373). This chapter uses two distinctive structural triangles: (1) the separation of powers triangle; and (2) the three-fifths compromise triangle and the underlying emotional process to demonstrate how political attitudes and behavior persist in the functioning of the U.S. Constitution over generations.