Essay On How Does The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

Have you ever wondered why the United States government doesn't have one branch that takes over the whole government, since tyranny is everywhere. Well, tyranny doesn't happen because we have the United States Constitution to guard against it. The Constitution was written on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia by 55 delegates. It was written because Congress authorized delegates to gather in Philadelphia and recommend changes to the existing charter of government for the 13 states, the Articles of Confederation, which many Americans believed had created a weak, ineffective central government, but they instead created a whole new document, the Constitution. So, how does the constitution guard against tyranny? Well, the constitution guards tyranny

According to a quote from James Madison's Federalist paper #51 “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments [State and Federal], and the portion alloted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. 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 from itself.” What this means is that James Madison wanted two kinds of governments, one that is larger (Federal) and one that is smaller (states). Therefore, Federalism guards against tyranny by dividing the powers between two distinct governments, giving the Federal Government some powers such as the power to Declare war, print money and coin money and make immigration laws, while the state Governments have the power to hold elections, establish schools, and pass marriage and divorce laws. Since each government has their own powers it then makes it harder to have tyranny

In Federalist Paper #51 by James Madison it says “The constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other…. [The three branches] should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” What this means is the founding fathers made it so each branch is able to check on the other branches making it so one branch does not become too powerful. Some examples of some of the things that the branches are able to do to check on each other are: the legislative branch can override a president's veto, the executive branch can nominate judges, and the judicial branch can declare laws unconstitutional. Therefore, Checks and balances protects against tyranny by giving each branch of government a way to check on the other branches and make sure one branch is not gaining to much power, thus preventing