The Constitution Guarded Against Tyranny Dbq

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The United States of America declared its independence from England because the king was abusing his powers like a tyrant. For example, the king set taxes without consent, unfair laws, and set soldiers in times of peace. According to James Madison, “The accumulation of all powers...in the same hands whether at one, a few, or many is the very definition of tyranny.” In 1781, the United States’ first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was approved. The Articles of Confederation gave most of the power to the states but unfortunately failed because there was no leader, no court system, and no power to tax. Because of this, a new constitution had to be made. The Constitution was written in the city of Philadelphia, in May 1787, by 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the Great Compromise. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through federalism. Federalism is a type of government in which the states and federal government share powers. [Doc A is an excerpt from Federalist Paper #51 written by James Madison in 1788. The 85 Federalist Papers were written by …show more content…

Checks and balances prevents any one branch from having too much power. [Doc C is an excerpt from Federalist Paper #51 written by James Madison in 1788. The Federalist Papers were papers written to convince people to ratify the Constitution.] According to Doc C, ”...the constant aim is to divide and arrange several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other…” In this quote, Madison is saying that *the Constitution made the three branches divided in a way that they can watch and check over each other. This system guards against tyranny because it ensures that the three branches won’t overpower one another.* This shows how the Constitution uses a system of checks and balances to guard against

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