How do you think our rights were protected against tyranny by the Constitution? Tyranny is when one person is given all the power to control a country of a government in a dictator like manner. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in several ways, which were federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, big states vs. small states. The first guard against tyranny was Federalism, a system of government in which power is divided between a federal government and state government. 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.
This way of thinking was totally different from that of England who was a monarchy even up to now. Americans going a different and bold direction with the well established Constitution made sure that this Constitution was monarchy hostile. An example will be the title of nobility, which states that the title of nobility usually leads to inequality among people even though there is no such thing as equality but the theory was still created a government where under the circumstances people are treated equal. Therefore, the main reason the Constitution was dedicated to the idea and goal of equality. In other to discourage monarchy and reinforce the American idea, our founding fathers came up with the three branches of government where they would each have certain role to fulfill, share power which will allow them to oversee each other.
This is essential for our government to maintain a balance between the three branches without overreach by one over another. Montesquieu said, “To prevent the abuse of power, ’tis necessary that by the very disposition of things power should be a check to power,”(200) he also went on to say, “These three powers should naturally form a state of repose or inaction”(211). Each branch has a certain limited power over the other whether it be the president vetoing legislation, legislators impeaching the president or supreme court justices, or the Supreme Court finding legislation or executive action unconstitutional and/or not in the public’s best interest. It is argued that the judicial branch has no real power, seeing that it has no real enforcement or any legislative capabilities, but its sway is held through recognition and respect. In order to limit the power of congress it is divided into an upper and lower house.
Engl Composition and Readin Summary Federalist #51 James Madison stated “a will in the community independent of the majority, that is, of the society itself; the other, by comprehending in the society so many separate descriptions of citizens, as will render an unjust combination of a majority of the whole very improbable, if not impracticable.” My paper will attempt to explain the preceding passage, and give a brief description of his involvement in drafting the Constitution. The will of the people is the inclination of the people mainly from the majority. For example many different favorable opportunists came to influence the will of the people from politics, new business e.g. the railroad in the civil war period, becoming a more powerful union as a state.. James Madison made laws that kept the will of the people from being influenced by those
President Woodrow Wilson wrote “the he Constitution of the United States is not a mere lawyers’ document, it is a vehicle of life and its spirit is always the spirit of the age.” One must keep this fact in mind when comparing the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation. There was a vast difference in the “spirit of the age” when these documents were drafted. Coming on the heels of the Declaration of Independence and the war against England, and afraid of a dictatorship or a government that did not listen to its people, the Articles of Confederation (which will be referred to as AoC) were written it a way that gave more power to the states. The problem with this type of government was that it was too difficult to enact or enforce laws and the government could not collect enough taxes to support itself. I believe the Constitution did a better job of protecting liberties, specifically in the areas of the federal court system, representation of the people, and the levy of taxes.
Cynthia Jones Madison’s Federalists #51 The Federalists papers were written for encouragement of ratification to the Constitution. We learn that Madison says “we are all citizens who need checks and balances throughout the government.” There are three branches of government the executive branch, legislative branch, and the judicial branch that all have separate powers in American government. Madison breaks down how each should be keeping pieces of their power in its place within its constitutional means. One goal was to ensure no branch of government have more power to be tyrannical and violate against right and liberties, so that one branch may not dominate another. When we only had thirteen states, they wanted to become sovereign countries,
However, looking at the statistics such as Bill Clintons presidency, in the first 2 years which was a united government, Congress exercised limited oversight, and when needed to, asked softball questions, however , when Republicans took over Congress, things got much harder as they seek to hold the President to account, and after a while, impeach. Although this shows that things are more different when it is a united or divided government, Congress still has a task to do in which they must do oversight on President, so, it being united or divided government should not affect the task Congress are suppose to do, as they are an independent
While Madison supported a strong central government, he also helped implement what are common separations of power and checks and balances. Originally a Federalist and author of many of the Federalist Papers along with colleagues such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, Madison was not only a scholar but a statesman that saw the dangers of a hard, ridged stance for federal government. Madison feared the likelihood of each state in the Confederacy having its own monetary systems and laws. He feared that bankruptcy from one state might seep to the next with a catastrophic result. He held a firm stance against treason and sedition.
By doing this it would lead the democracy to a dictatorship. The separation of powers is another way to ensure that checks and balances are being enforced and followed through. Caplan brings the issue of the debate of the meaning of separation of powers, “…the separation of powers means that each branch has exclusive control of matters in its domain or whether the Constitution generally gives Congress and the president overlapping, or blended, powers, all of which are quite extensive but none of which obviously serves as an absolute trump to the other,” (Caplan 21-2) So the presidential power used in the issue of foreign policy has been somewhat validated by this statement
Checks & Balances is a more simple way to say (the counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups) basically a more concise thought about limiting the powers of the Government. In the Constitution, this principle is stated or referred to in the first, second, and third article. In the first article it goes over the dos and don’ts of the 3 branches. For example, in (Article 1, Section 9) “places certain limits on Congress. Certain legal items, such as suspension of habeas corpus, bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws are prohibited.