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Federalism And The Separation Of Powers

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Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people, ensuring that one does not become too powerful and aids in the separation of powers. Liberty is a state of freedom within a society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one 's way of life, behavior, or political views. Although these two political science terms are different, they correlate and interact with one another in the American Government and are still relevant to contemporary policy issues faced today. James Madison 's The Federalist No. 47 doctrine exemplifies this: "In order to form correct ideas on this important subject, it will be proper to investigate the sense in which the preservation of liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct."
Madison based the concept of federalism on the French lawyer Montesquieu 's theory of the separation of powers. This theory states: “Were the executive power not to have a right of restraining the encroachments of the legislative body, the latter would become despotic; for as it might arrogate to itself what authority it pleased, it would soon destroy all the other powers.” Madison, along with the other Founding Fathers, took heed to this warning and created the three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). Although this system does provide a distinct separation, it does not call for absolute separation. Instead, the

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