How Does the Constitution Protect the People from Tyranny? Essay

Tyranny is means ‘as harsh absolute power in the hands of one individual’; it has happened everywhere. Whatever the size or shape, tyranny is a problem because it means too much power in the hands of one person or group. In 1787, Representatives from almost all the states in the U.S, met in Philadelphia to fix the issue of tyranny. The House presents us to “The Articles of Confederation” to help guard against tyranny. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in ways such as having the federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the large and small states both treated equally.

Have you ever wondered what the US would be like if our government was a tyranny? Well, thanks to our founding fathers for creating a strong constitution, we don’t have to worry about that. The constitution was written in 1787 in Philadelphia. The problem was that the existing government that was under the Articles Of Confederation wasn’t very successful. Therefore, the fifty-five delegates representing twelve out of the thirteen states came together to tweak our constitution to create a strong government without allowing one person, or group of people to have too much power. The framers used the Constitution to protect against Tyranny in three ways federalism, separation of powers, and

Checks and balances guard against tyranny by separating power between three branches and the branches. One way the President can check the power of the Supreme Court is that the President may nominate judges. One way the legislation can check the power of the chief executive is that they can override a President's view. One way the Supreme Court case check the Senate is that the court can declare laws unconstitutional (document C). The framers of the constitution guarded against tyranny by separating the power into three branches of government.

Tyranny is a monster; a dictatorship in full force, and one operation that can demise the greatness and the tenacious power of a country within months. But the United States of America, the country with the longest standing Constitution in history, disregards tyranny as impertinent, as George Washington had once said, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which may include their own government.” The United States Constitution encompasses the fundamental laws and provides the guarantee of many basic rights to the citizens of the country. It establishes the national government of the United States. The document

George III, their former leader, was a tyrant. Moreover, the king set taxes and laws on the colonists, but they did not have a vote or say in the government. The Constitution guarded against tyranny as power was divided. The founding fathers created several ways to prevent absolute rule - federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the Great Compromise.

Checks and balances help prevent tyranny. Each branch checks each other to make sure each one doesn’t get too much power. For example, one way that the legislative branch checks the executive branch is to override vetoes and impeach the President. Also, one way the executive branch can check the judicial branch is by nominating judges into the Supreme Court. One way the judicial branch can check the legislative branch is when they can declare a law unconstitutional. This way, our central government is each divided in

Tyranny is something all developing countries risk while forming their new governments. In the Constitution of the United States, the Founding Fathers put a large amount of time and thought to make sure America did not become just a another country that fell to the merciless trap of tyranny. America had just won a war to separate itself from the controlling jaws of Britain. So, one of America’s main concerns as a new country was to create a government that could never eventually evolve into a tyranny. Thus, the Constitution (signed in 1787) was passed, laying the foundation for a tyranny-free government led by the values of equality and freedom. The Constitution of the United States of America protects against a potential tyranny in the government through federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and big states versus small states.

If you want to know how the constitution protects us against tyranny then read this paper. In these paragraphs I will tell you about three different ways the U.S. constitution protects us against tyranny. Here are some important details I think you should know. The constitution was written in September, 1787, someone named James Madison wrote the constitution, and the constitution was written in Philadelphia. The U.S. constitution protects us against tyranny by separation of powers, checks and balances, and congressional representation.

The Constitution was created so one person or group wasn’t able to get too much power. At first, the Articles of Confederation was made. The Articles of Confederation was not working because the central government didn’t have enough power to protect the nation. The Constitution was made in order to hold the states together and the people together, and make sure the government doesn’t gain too much power. The Constitution guards against tyranny. Tyranny is “The accumulation of all powers…in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many” (Federalism Paper #47). The Constitution guards against tyranny by separation of powers, creating federalism, and having checks and balances.

During the writing of the Constitution, the determination to not let one specific being control the new government was a must for success(Madison Excerpt 1). As stated by James Madison, tyranny was everyone’s main concern when establishing the layout of the United States government, but not all writers agreed on the thoughts of others. Once compromise was made, the Constitution developed many statements that guard the United States from tyranny by enforcing federalism, dividing powers, checking and keeping balance, and giving small states a voice when associated with larger states.

The system of checks and balances is a procedure in which systems allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other two branches. These checks allow each branch to block the actions of another branch. When Congress has the power to pass laws, the president can check this power by vetoing a bill before it becomes an actual law. Congress also has the same power and can check the president’s power by overriding the veto if two-thirds of the majority in Congress vote in each house. The Judicial Branch can also check these actions of the other two branches. The Supreme Court can declare that a law, treaty, or an executive action is unconstitutional. Basically, the system of Checks and Balances is to balance out each branch and limiting each branch’s power. (Page 162 9.2)

Americans desperately fight against the poison of tyranny with their best weapon, the Constitution. During the Colonial Period, King George III, demanded many things from the colonists. These demands were caused by the aftermath of the French and Indian War. England had increasing debts, so the king raised the taxes of both America and England. The increase of taxes caused anger to rise from the Americans, which allowed a roll of events to unfold. After many harsh exchanges between the colonists and King George III, America declared its independence on July 4, 1776. Soon after the declaration, things began to heat up as fight over representation in government began to be more debated.

"The accumulation of all powers... in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many (is) the very definition of tyranny" (James Madison- Background Essay). In May of 1787, the delegates came together to create a new Constitution that had a stronger central government. One problem the delegates were faced with was the possibility of tyranny within the United States of America. Delegates like James Madison, created the Constitution that prevented Tyranny. The Constitution guards against tyranny by creating a Federalist government, a separation of powers, a system of checks and balances, and equality between big states vs small states.

By checking each other, the branches can’t gain too much power for themselves. The three different branches of government can check on each other to make sure they all have the same amount of power. They check by approving or disapproving an action that another branch has done. If the chief executive has too much power, the legislature can check the power of the chief executive by overriding a President’s veto, and by impeaching him. While the President can check the power of the Supreme Court by nominating judges.

¨Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.¨ - James Madison. The Constitution guards against tyranny by having federalism, separation of powers, and also checks and balances. Therefore, Federalism is the powers given to the states. And without a system like checks and balances, the powers among the states would not be divided evenly so therefore we would have tyranny. Tyranny means oppressive power. And when power is divided, there will be no tyranny. The Constitution was written by James Madison with significant help from the founding fathers, in Philadelphia, 1787.