The Absolute Power: The US Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

The first guard against tyranny was Federalism; a system of government in which power is divided

Separation of power is the second reasoning for the guard again tyranny. This part controls the “three branches”, the judicial, executive, and legislative branch. All of these help separate the government and it keeps one person, or group from doing what they want. “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct” James Madison quotes in the federalist paper #47.

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.

One way the U.S. constitution protects us against tyranny is separation of powers. A double security rises to the rights of the people. The government's control each other, but at the same time it will be controlled by itself. The National and State governments limit each other's powers and the powers are divided between them. If all the power is in the same hands then they will have to much and there will be a tyranny. James Madison said, “Liberty requires that the three great departments should be separate and distinct.” He talks about how the branches limit each other and that the powers are divided so one branch doesn't get too much. Separation of powers

Federalism guarded against tyranny by dividing government into a central government and a state government. Federalism also prevented the abuse of power by allowing these two distinct governments to also share powers. Therefore, there is no single ruler or group with absolute power. The separation of powers guarded against tyranny by dividing the powers of government into three distinct branches. The separation of powers made it so that no individual or group has all the powers of government. The system of checks and balances prevented tyranny by keeping the three departments in order and under control. This system of checking and balancing creates a way for the other branches to check on each other. This system also guarantees that one of the branches will not become overpowered. The Great Compromise declared that each state in the House of Representative will have proportional and equal senate representation. This way all states have equal power. In conclusion, the constitution guards against tyranny by separating government into two distinct governments, and by separating the powers of government into three distinct departments, by creating a way for the branches to check each other, and by having equal and proportional representation

Tyranny is defined as power in the hands of one individual or small group which is why the Founding Fathers set up safeguards to guard against it. When 55 delegates come together to fix the constitution, they made sure that they created a strong enough government with equal power. Powers had to be distributed equally for the government to be successful. Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances and Representation of All States guarded against tyranny by all wanting the government to be equal and not wanting power within one person.

The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches have a task of there own to complete. This makes sure that not one group or person can control everything in the government. If one person had all the power in the government, they would be able to make laws, enforce them, and punish people for breaking those laws all at the same time(Doc B). That is the definition of tyranny.

Alex Storozynski says, “Tyranny anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.” He is saying tyranny can affect other countries not only your own. Tyranny is harsh absolute power by one, a few, or many. The constitution guarded against tyranny by Separating Powers, using Checks and Balances, and using the system of Federalism.

Second way the Constitution guards against tyranny is separation of powers. Separation of Powers means divided the power up among the three branch of government. In Document B it says, “Liberty requires that the great departments of powers should be separate and distinct.” James Madison stated that the power has to be spread and not given to one person or one branch of

(doc b) This is called the Separation of Powers. The separation of power guards against tyranny. There are 3 separate departments of power, legislative, judicial, and executive. (doc b) Legislative makes the laws, judicial makes sure that laws are constitutional, and the executive which includes the president, enforces the laws. If you separate these powers then you guard against tyranny. (doc

Since the advent of human government, one of the principle fears held by the constituents of the government has always been to prevent any form of tyranny or abuse within it. Tyranny can be loosely described as one person or a group of people having total power in a government leading to the subjugation and oppression of people’s rights. Many new nations wish to eliminate any aspect of their government that may eventually lead to tyranny. The United States was no different in this respect; the framers of the Constitution longed to have no signs of tyranny in their government because they had gone to war with Britain for that very reason. In 1787, a group of fifty-five delegates came from

According to James Madison, “ 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΅ (Document B). The quote is explaining that all powers in government should be divided into three, In the Constitution, the three branches are legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch has its own power and responsibilities. This quote is important because that everyone has a job no one is slacking taking too much power so they divided equally into different parts so everyone has a place in their

Another method the Constitution protects against tyranny is the separation of powers with checks and balances. The government is separated into three branches so that all the power is not in the same hands (Doc. B). For example, a person can not hold office in multiple branches because that would give them too much power. The three branches, legislative, executive and

A tyrant is a supreme ruler who take all power for himself or herself. Or we can

The constitution splits the power given to national government into three branches, which are separate from each other: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The separation of powers was based on the ideas of Montesquieu, with him ‘L’esprit de lois’ which means the spirit of the law. The executive plays the role of administrating law. The president does this in many ways , for example he; executes federal laws and programs, conducts foreign policy , commands the armed forces, negotiates treaties and other such roles. Checks and balances another main factor of the constitution comes in here, as the people get to keep a check on the president every 4 years with the presidential election, which stops any tyranny of powers. This can also be seen in another branch of government. The legislature passes law, this is done through congress. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its roles include;