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Constitution Dbq Analysis

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Considered one of the most important documents in United States history, the Constitution was the basis of a government still functioning today. In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates from eleven of the thirteen states gathered in Philadelphia to fix the first attempt at a constitution, the Acts of Confederation. The government set up by this functioned so poorly that the entire document was scrapped thus making way for the Constitution. This provided a functioning government organized in a way that would eliminate any chance of a single party or person becoming a tyrant. The Constitution created an outline for a government with powers fairly distributed between the federal government, state governments, three branches of government and small …show more content…

This was the first error the delegates at the Constitutional Convention hoped to fix with the Constitution. In JAmes MAdison’s Federalist Paper #51, he explains that the power the people of the nation grants its government be divided into two separate government's, meaning state and federal, to ensure a “double security” on the people’s rights. This idea was referred to as federalism (Doc A). This division of power was set up in a way that both governments had specific powers that the other had no control over, which prevented either one form gaining all power. Tyranny was further prevented by both state and central governments sharing some powers, keeping each other in …show more content…

By splitting the power into a central and state governments, as well as dividing powers into three distinct branches, gaining all power became a feat much harder to achieve. By establishing a checks and balances system, no type of tyranny could even begin to form within a branch without being stopped by another. Finally, all states were given the representation they deserve, therefore stopping any one group from gaining too much power. With all the separation and limitations placed on all areas of the government any type of corruption can only go so far before being immediately

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One of the ways that the United States guarded against cruel and oppressive government or rule was that they made the three branches of government. These three branches were the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. This helped guard against cruel and oppressive government or rule because “they were separate and distinct powers.” (Doc B) This would help to guard against cruel and oppressive government or rule because all of these powers were separated so there wasn’t one overpowering government.

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The creators were concerned about building a body of government that had too much central power because they believed that if the central government had too much power, then as a result, the government would become a tyranny. The unicameral legislature had little power and all states were equal however, there were no checks and balances in the government to separate and balance power. By the Constitution dividing power between the Senate and House, the two would rule each other out and always have the same amount of power as the

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Federalism guards against tyranny, so does the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each guard in different, unique ways. All of them do the same job to guard against tyranny. Federalism divides the government into the state and central governments. The division of powers gives each branch of government equal power, while checks and balances allows each branch to check each other.

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DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal

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“The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny. ”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.

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According to James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, 1788 (Document C), “[The three branches] should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.”. The diagram (Document C) shows ways the branches can check each other’s power, for example, “Congress can impeach the President and remove him or her from office”, “The President nominates judges”, and “The court can declare laws unconstitutional.”. Checks and balances protect against tyranny because the three branches can check each other’s power to prevent one branch from having too much power. Checks and balances also make sure that each branch relies on each other, as if one branch did not exist, then the system would not work at

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The United States Constitution was created to define the powers and limitations of the government. It replaced the Articles of the Confederation, and was ratified by all 13 states in 1787 (American Government, n.d.). The ratification of the Constitution was not without opposition, and the government was split into two groups: federalists, and anti-federalists. The federalist group believed that a national governing body, ruled by the elite class was necessary. Antifederalists, on the other hand, believed that state governments should have more say, and that the government should be run by ordinary people (American Government, n.d.).

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The Constitution guarded against tyranny due to the principles of government and the Great Compromise. This argument will be proven by Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and the NJ and VA plans. Federalism guarded against tyranny by making sure the state and central governments can check each other to ensure neither government has total control. In Federalist Papers #51, Madison states, “the different government will each control each other, that at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” Our government, being split into three branches, controls each other and makes sure that one branch won’t be able to gain more power.

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May 1787. 55 delegates, one long, sweaty conference. The Constitutional Convention was a huge event for the United States. During this convention, the 55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island met up to change their Articles of Confederation. Instead of editing, however, the 55 delegates rewrote the whole thing into the Constitution, which is still used today.

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From the failure of the Articles, should the new government, the Constitution, be approved? In 1788, the Constitution was created as the Articles of Confederation wasn’t successful and strong enough for their new government. During that time, a debate went throughout America about the Constitution whether to ratify it or not. Yes, the Constitution should be ratified because a Bill of Rights was promised, no one overpowered (in the government; checks and balances), and it is fair to both citizens and officials. Starting off, a bill of rights was promised which would ensure many things for the citizens.

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“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.

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The Constitution was believed to be a conservative document. The Constitution will be one of the reasons why radical changes take place and will take huge shifts politically to a large extent. The Constitution took power away from the state and gave it to the federal state. This was something Hamilton believed in because he wanted a large and strong government and weak federal state. The Federalists believed in the Federalist paper which was written by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.

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The assembling of the Constitution was a long and hardening process for the framers to take on their own during the summer of 1787. That being said nothing good is created without a little dispute. Although by the end of the Convention they had established the Constitution, there were still some unsettling ideas that needed to be set straight for the people. These deference's in ideals separated the United States people into the Federalist (supporting the ideas of the Constitution fully without any changes), and the Anti- Federalists (persons who wanted an established and undeniable writing that the rights and liberties of the people were secure among other things). These strains of the people were necessary in order for our Constitution to

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Political By dividing the power between the national and state governments, which is the most important aspect of federalism, you prevent tyranny and runaway power. The system was designed the way it was because of the importance of preventing this matter. A tyranny in the country would have disastrous

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James Madison wrote Federalist 51 over 200 years ago, yet its words still impact today’s government in 2016. When writing Federalist 51, Madison had two main objectives in mind; he wanted a government with a separation of powers, and he also wanted minorities to be protected. Both of his objectives have been accomplished and continue to be present in today’s American government with the latter objective being more present in today’s government even more so than in the past. To begin with, power is separated in today’s government, preventing a single person or group from having absolute power since, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” according to John Dalberg-Acton. The American government is composed of three branches which power is separated amongst.

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