* Define and give an example of separation of powers and checks and balances * Separation of powers- An aspect of the Madisonian Model of government that requires each of the three branched of government to be independent of and to share power with each other so that one cannot control the others. Ex. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of govn’t all separate * Checks and balances- balances power- Important feature of the Constitution which enables each branch of government to constrain the other branched activities in order to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power. * After the American Revolution and under the Articles of Confederation, who started to gain/lose political power? * the wealthy lost power and the low income/farmers
They were influenced by the writings of the french political philosopher Montesquieu. In his book ‘The Spirit Of The Laws’ Montesquieu argued for a separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches of government in order to avoid tyranny. ‘When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person…there can be no liberty’ wrote Montesquieu. The Founding Fathers implemented this, through the president, Congress and the US Court System with a Supreme Court which holds ultimate judicial power. The separation of powers was designed to limit government, as each branch would carry out different functions of government this meant no single branch has total control in order to form a dictatorship.
All of these questions needed to be answered and the only logical way to resolve these issues was through government. The execution of government and such laws was in the best interest of the commonwealth for the public good. This is the main connection between property and the need for public government because without government who would preserve and protect these interest. Locke recognized the danger of leaving absolute power to any one individual, or group of individuals. Locke thought that the government’s power was best limited by dividing it up into branches, with each branch having only as much power as is needed for its proper function.
The guard of federalism is shown one way in the Constitution when they set up the compound government to make sure that the federal government doesn’t get too much power. The second way is when some responsibilities are given to the state government so that they can share the power equally. Federalism protects against tyranny because it ensures that the federal government doesn’t have too much to say in what happens in the country so that they don’t become too powerful and create tyranny. The second guard against tyranny was the separation of powers which means that the government is separated into separate branches so that they can spread out the power so that one branch of the government can have more pull in what happen in the decisions made
Jefferson and the Jeffersonian Republicans believed that the authority of the federal government was based on a strict constitution. The Federalists believed in the opposite. Federalists believed that the constitution should be interpreted in a loose and broader way. The Federalists were able to make decisions that were not written word for word in the constitution. Jefferson states his disagreements with James Madison when he says, “Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government.” (Document A).
There were other provisions in the constitution to defend against abusing power, the system of checks and balances and having three branches in the government. While there was a central government, its power was diffused into three separate branches of relatively equal power. Each branch had the power to watch over the other two branches and stop any unconstitutional actions that were damaging to the government or it's people. The three branches and the system of checks and balances allow for the government to have a large amount of power and assure that it will not abuse the power invested into it by the
Alexander Hamilton once stated, "Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint." By saying this, Hamilton meant a government is required because people cannot make decisions based upon their instincts. The voice and thoughts of one are too irresponsible or unreasonable to make decisions. Mankind needs laws and obligations to live by, not only to keep peace but to protect ourselves from our basic nature.
The constitution guarded against tyranny in several ways such as federalism, separation of powers, check and balances, and the big states vs. small states. The first guard against tyranny was federalism, which meant a system of government in which power is divided between a federal government and state government. The guard of federalism is shown two ways, one of them is the government will each control each other and at the same time each would be controlled. The second way is when some responsibilities are given to the state government so that they can share the power equally. Federalism protects against tyranny because powers that are given to central and state are shared, it also ensures that the federal government doesn’t have much to say in what happens in the country so they wont become powerful and create tyranny.
Checks and Balances The Constitution separates the government into the branches, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Each branch has separate powers but are also given the duty and ability to control and balance others in a system called checks and balances. Each branch is able to limit the other branched to a certain extent in order to protect individual rights. Checks and balances assure that one branch will never have a greater amount of power than another branch. Below are the powers of each branch.
The Legislative Branch consists of the Senate and House of Representatives. Checks and balances create independence amongst the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches of the U.S. government. Examples of checks and balances include the Presidential veto of a Congressional bill, the Congressional impeachment of the President, or the Judicial ruling of Congressional laws that violate the U.S. Constitution. Each branch has its own actions and rules of conduct, giving them the freedom to legally operate without limitation from another branch. Each part of the U.S. government is limited in their power as given by the Constitution.