A constitutional convention was held in May of 1787, when 55 delegates from 12 out of the 13 states met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In James Madison’s words, a tyrant is “a government with an absolute ruler like a king, or a dictator.” King George III was known as a tyrant. King George III was an unfit ruler who led the colonists to break away from Great Britain because of reasons including (but are not limited to) unruly taxes, lowering prices for Britain’s tea only, and putting soldiers at the Appalachian Mountains unnecessarily. After a failed attempt at government, a constitution needed to be created. After making the Declaration of Independence, the United States had to make a new form of government. The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution. States were afraid of the government being tyrants, so they decided to make their own rules. Without a proper government, there was total mayhem between the states, and the Articles of Confederation failed. At the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, the delegates meant to …show more content…
Federalism is a system in which the government is split into the state government and the federal government. Document A is an excerpt from Federalist Paper #51, written by James Madison in 1788. The Federalist Papers were a series of essays that gave reasons as to why the Constitution should be ratified. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Document A states, “...The power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” James Madison explains that the power is separated into two diverse governments so that the power is spread. The spreading of power between the two governments ensures that there will be no tyranny or abuse of