Federalism Dbq Essay

The United States would lose its name and stand divided if the Constitution did not bring the thirteen colonies into one body. Within this governing body, fears arise from the difficulty of controlling power in a central government, while still trying to keep unity between the states. Understanding that the United States was formed based on the people’s irritation with the corruption of the control of power in England, the Constitution reassured the people that their freedoms were going to be kept, but it required their trust. The founders of the United States Constitution established a just government through encompassing equal representation, with the people as the foundation, and protecting the injustices that could arise with the misuse of power.

The Four Coercive acts were passed in 1774 by the British Parliament, as a direct response to the Boston Tea Party that took place in December 1773. The British Parliament was furious and forced Massachusetts to pay for the tea and to submit to imperial authority. A Port Bill closed the Boston Harbor, the Government Act prohibited many town meetings, the Quartering Act required the colonist to house, feed, and build barracks for the British troops, with no say, and the Justice Acts allowed trials for capital crimes to be transferred to other colonies or Britain. This outraged the colonist, as each law violated exactly what John Locke had stated the government shouldn’t do, it was a violation of their constitutional rights, and colonial charters.

Federalism is power divided between central and state government. The state governments can establish schools. The central government can declare war. The state government powers are local and the central government have nationwide powers (Federalism venn diagram). It provides double security by giving both the government and states the same/equal important power, Federalism guards against tyranny because it ensures that two levels share, one can’t accumulate.

The constitution makes use of separation of powers in order to prevent tyranny. In conjunction with his view of tyranny, Madison also said “(L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power be separate and distinct” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, Document B). This quote alludes quite clearly to separation of powers. Using this philosophy the founders gave each branch a few set jobs to perform. The legislative branch

Federalism is the federal principle of government. The government is divided into two different parts, The Federal government and the State government. "The different governments will each control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself" (Document A). That quote is saying, The central and state government share power, but also have their own power. A few powers they share is, they can both tax people and make laws.

The three branches of government also known as the legislative, judicial, and executive, helped guard against tyranny, by separation of powers. The main idea of a quote by James Madison states that, all three branches of government lean on each other, yet have separate but equal powers. (Document B) Separation of powers, created by the three branches of government, helped guard against tyranny, by allowing the three divisions to lean on each other, so that if one group did something that went out of hand, they could do something about it. In James Madison’s Federalist Paper #47, he states that, “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… (L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” The beginning of the quote defines the outcome of what would happen if one person or group were to accumulate all the powers of the legislative, executive, and judiciary. The ending of the quote states that if liberty is wanted, the three

The early years of the Constitution of the United States were full of political strife. The two prominent political ideals were complete opposites. The Jeffersonian Republicans were focused on giving power to the people and maintaining a pastoral economy, while the Federalists supported the control of the government by the elite class, and maintaining “positive” democracy. Both parties feared the influence and effect the other party would have on the public. In Linda K. Kerber's article, “The Fears of the Federalists”, the major concerns Federalists held in the early 19th century are described. Ever since the war with and separation from England, the citizens of America were seen to be continually drive to “patriotic rebellion” as a way to

In Document A, James Madison states that we are a compound republic. “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments…” He wanted to divide power between our central government and state government. This system is also known as federalism. The central government could rule over everybody where we needed it in areas such as trade, foreign relations, defense, and money printing. The states could handle things within their own individual states. They could set up their own governments, hold elections for these governments, start schools, and take care of their own in-state business. Both groups could borrow money, tax, and make and enforce laws. This guards against tyranny because it gives both groups power over separate things and also has them sharing certain powers. The groups can also check each other’s decisions. Federalism has us sharing our power among ourselves, which is the opposite of tyranny where one person or group has all the power and

Federalism was created to ensure neither the states nor central government hold too much power. Document A shows that federalism is achieved by using a compound government made up of the central and state powers.

James Madison’s words in the Federalist Papers were “The different governments will each control each other, at the same time will be controlled by itself.” (Doc. A). By separating the central and state government, it created a security to the rights of each group, both forms of government had a separate job, but they also both watched over one another. This way guards from tyranny because it keeps the power completely separated between central and state government but also keeping the power balanced at the same time. Some powers given to the central government include: conducting foreign relations, providing an army and navy, and printing money, Meanwhile, some powers given to the states include: the setup of local governments, ability to hold elections, and regulating in-state business (Doc. A). Federalism was the framers’ first way to prevent tyranny in the constitution, while keeping the two groups of central and state government from obtaining to much

Anti-Federalist concerns raised during the ratification process lead to the creation of the Bill of Rights. Without everyone on his side, Madison could not ratify the constitution. So in order to gain support from the Anti-Federalists he promised them that he would enact a Bill of Rights that would eventually give them their freedom.

Federalism is “Madison’s idea of division of power between central and state governments (Doc A).” In other words, the powers that the population give up are equally divided to the Central Government and States. Despite

In the year of 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to write the Constitution. Tyranny, a type of government with an absolute ruler, was a fear. In fear of Tyranny, James Madison tried his best to balance the power. One way was by the “Powers Given to the Central Government”, and the powers shared (Document A). This is a kind of compound government called ‘federalism’.

One of the greatest debates in the Constitutional Convention was the form of government. After the Articles of Confederation turned out to be a disaster for the United States, the Constitutional Convention was faced with the challenge of creating a stable government. This is where federalism was introduced. Federalism is a form of government that creates a balancing act between a strong federal and strong state government. . The introduction of federalism was extremely controversial and it created the first resemblance of political parties in the election of 1800.

Even with a representative government, its separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances, Madison also favored the implementation of a written Constitution, detailing the limits of the federal government’s power. The written Constitution of the United States created a paradigm shift in the way the world viewed Constitutions. It created a tangible means whereby citizens could hold the government accountable. While the Constitution of the United States accomplished many goals in regards to establishing the role of the federal government, it left much open to