How Did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny?

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How did the Constitution Guard against Tyranny? Nolen Michael Ms. McKee U.S. History Nov.27, 2012 Abstract In the summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states met in Philadelphia to fix the national government. The problem was that the existing government, under the Articles of Confederation, just wasn’t doing the job. It was too weak. The challenge was to create a strong central government without letting any one person, or group of people, get too much power. How did the Constitution Guard against Tyranny? “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, May. 1787). The Articles of Confederation wasn’t working for the fifty-five individuals at the Constitutional Convention on May of 1787 in Philadelphia. Under the articles, there was no chief executive, court system, or a way to force the states to pay taxes. For Madison and his delegates, they were challenged by having to write a Constitution that was strong enough to hold the people and states together without letting one person or group, branch, or level of government gain to much control. How did the constitution guard against tyranny? The constitution guarded against tyranny by providing federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and big states vs. small states. The first guard against tyranny was federalism which means a compound government made up of a central or state government. Powers given to the central government were to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, declare war, print and coin money, set up post offices, and to make

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