In What Ways Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

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Our country is protected by the Constitution from tyranny. The constitution was drafted in 1787, in Philadelphia, by James Maddison. He did not want our country to be like other countries. He wanted a fair government led by the people. So he made our country a democracy. How did the constitution guard against tyranny? Tyranny means one person or a group of people seize control over the government and have more power. The constitution uses four main ways to avoid tyranny, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and big states vs small states. One of the ways we avoid tyranny is federalism. Federalism is when the government gives separate power to the federal government and the states. For example, some powers given to the federal government …show more content…

Separation of powers helps each branch of government not become too powerful. Each branch has its own jobs. The executive branch executes and enforces the laws. The legislative branch writes the law. And the judicial branch judges the law. Document B shows us how the powers are separated and why it is a good thing they have separate duties. Another way that the constitution avoids tyranny is with the system of checks and balances. Checks and balances is the process of each branch “checking” each other and making sure no one is too powerful. Each branch has the power to vote for or against the other branch. For example, if the legislative branch tries to write a biased law, the president can veto it. All three branches have different powers to help keep our country tyranny free. The final main way our constitution avoids tyranny is by the big states vs. small states. The number of representatives in the House of Representatives is chosen through the population size of the state. However, the Senate consists of two senators from each state. This little system helps the smaller states not be as easily overruled by bigger