Essay On How Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny
James Madison said, ¨If men were angels no government would be needed.” But men are not angels therefore a limited government is needed in order to rule over a free people. Because the United State's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, proved to be too weak, the leaders of the country recognized the need for a stronger central government. In the summer of 1787, delegate from the states met in Philadelphia to frame a new government. Their challenge was to create a stronger federal government without giving too much power to any one person or group, thus creating a tyranny. The result of their efforts was a new constitution divided into three separate branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. In what ways does the Constitution shield us from oppression? The Constitution guards against tyranny in three ways: federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
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The first way the Constitution guards against tyranny is through a system called Federalism. In Federalist Paper #51 James Madison explains Federalism as a, ¨...compound republic...the power surrender the by the people is first divided between two distinct governments [state and federal]” Furthermore, the diagram in document A lists several powers given to each government. For example, the central government regulates trade while the state governments have more local power, such as establishing schools. Federalism helps guard against tyranny because distributing power between
El 2 central and state governments prevents the governments from tyrannizing the nation or the nation´s people and allows each to control the other. Furthermore, the second way the Constitution guards against tyranny is by separating powers.
In Federalist Paper #47, James Madison explicates how one person or group withholding all the power is the definition of tyranny and that, “[L]iberty requires the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” The excerpt from the United States’ Constitution explain the different powers given to each branch of government. For instance, in Article 1, Section 1 it states, “All legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress…” Moreover, the United States’ Constitution explains, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States.” Additionally, the Constitution states, “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts….” Separation of Powers helps guard against tyranny because we prevent a singular branch from ruling over the people and have all the power, the very definition of tyranny. By separating the power of each branch it assures that no one branch overpowers
another. Moreover the third way the Constitution guards against tyranny is through the system of checks and balances. In Federalist Paper #51 James Madison states, “[The three branches] should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” In the diagram in document C it displays the different powers each branch has over one another. For instance, the diagrams explains that the Senate must approve the judge nominated by the President checking the Judicial Court’s power. Additionally, the President has the power to veto
El 3 laws, checking Congress’ power. Furthermore, the court can declare Presidential acts as unconstitutional, checking the power of the President. Checks and Balances helps guard against tyranny because it prevents the branches from ruling separately and tyrannizing the people. It allows the brache to regulate themselves and make sure that no branch has overall power. All and all, our founding fathers when through a rigorous process in order to create a strong central government that would protect the people from tyranny. They wrote the Constitution after the preceding had proven to be too weak. How does the Constitution guard against tyranny? The Constitution shields us from tyranny through a system known as federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
The first way the Constitution guards against tyranny is through a system called Federalism. In Federalist Paper #51 James Madison explains Federalism as a, ¨...compound republic...the power surrender the by the people is first divided between two distinct governments [state and federal]” Furthermore, the diagram in document A lists several powers given to each government. For example, the central government regulates trade while the state governments have more local power, such as establishing schools. Federalism helps guard against tyranny because distributing power between
El 2 central and state governments prevents the governments from tyrannizing the nation or the nation´s people and allows each to control the other. Furthermore, the second way the Constitution guards against tyranny is by separating powers.
In Federalist Paper #47, James Madison explicates how one person or group withholding all the power is the definition of tyranny and that, “[L]iberty requires the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” The excerpt from the United States’ Constitution explain the different powers given to each branch of government. For instance, in Article 1, Section 1 it states, “All legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress…” Moreover, the United States’ Constitution explains, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States.” Additionally, the Constitution states, “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts….” Separation of Powers helps guard against tyranny because we prevent a singular branch from ruling over the people and have all the power, the very definition of tyranny. By separating the power of each branch it assures that no one branch overpowers
another. Moreover the third way the Constitution guards against tyranny is through the system of checks and balances. In Federalist Paper #51 James Madison states, “[The three branches] should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” In the diagram in document C it displays the different powers each branch has over one another. For instance, the diagrams explains that the Senate must approve the judge nominated by the President checking the Judicial Court’s power. Additionally, the President has the power to veto
El 3 laws, checking Congress’ power. Furthermore, the court can declare Presidential acts as unconstitutional, checking the power of the President. Checks and Balances helps guard against tyranny because it prevents the branches from ruling separately and tyrannizing the people. It allows the brache to regulate themselves and make sure that no branch has overall power. All and all, our founding fathers when through a rigorous process in order to create a strong central government that would protect the people from tyranny. They wrote the Constitution after the preceding had proven to be too weak. How does the Constitution guard against tyranny? The Constitution shields us from tyranny through a system known as federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.