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Constitutional Law ; Checks & Balances
Discuss john lockes views about the liberty of the individual
Constitutional Law ; Checks & Balances
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The separation of powers is a way for the branches to not have to much power. For example, according to James Madison, Federalist #47, “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distant.” This means that the branches should not all have the same powers and should be very different from each other and not have to much power over one another. Separation of powers helps guard against tyranny by not allowing the branches to be too close to each other or this could very lead to tyranny. The branches should be close enough to check up on each other and have everything fair but not to close to where we could have tyranny in our government and
Separation of Powers is an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies. Quote: “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” In order for separation of powers to work the Congress has to vest the legislative, executive, and judicial powers into separate bodies with the government. The Constitution guarded against tyranny by establishing branches and checks.
In this book he expressed his ideas on how the government would work best. Montesquieu believed that the government should be split up into three groups: executive, judicial, and legislative. He was the first to suggest the separation of power in the government, where as the government as it was in France was aristocratic. Montesquieu proposed that if you share the power within the government, then no one part of the government with have all the power. This would stop one part of the government from oppressing the people of that place.
When the colonists were still with Great Britain, King George III misused his power. As a result, colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, to the king, to state their separation from Great Britain, to form a new country, the United States of America. After creating a new country, Americans wrote the Articles of Confederation in the year 1777, which they purposely weakened central government, so the abuse of power, wouldn’t exist. This meant the states had all the power. Although this structure of government seemed great, the creators of the Articles quickly realized that with no central government, states weren’t united because they were busy on increasing the growth of only their state.
(Document 10) One of Locke’s primary beliefs was the people’s right to revolt against oppressive government. Some of the greatest nations rose from a revolution including the United States and France. These revolutions led to greater and stronger
Locke believed that the citizens had a right and responsibility to overthrow an unjust government. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson says, "That whenever any form of
He favored representative government and a rule of law so people can have a say and their opinions matter. Locke condemned tyranny and said that when the government violates individual rights, people have the right to rebel. Locke’s writings and views inspired the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution and this inspired people throughout different continents. Thomas Jefferson had similar thinking. Thomas Jefferson used natural rights ideas to justify declaring independence from England.
After America declared independence from England the colonies were not under the rule of a Central Government. The Revolution formed a government without a monarchy also referred to as a Republic, there were several attempts at government that included The Articles of Confederation, The Virginia Plan, The New Jersey Plan and The Great Compromise. The Continental Congress drafted a written agreement called the Articles of Confederation which were adopted in 1777 but did not take effect until 1781. A Confederation is an association of independent states that agree to work together on certain matters and each state holds sovereignty.
If the government is granted to much power it can infringe on people's rights and keep peoples from their basic rights, these are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. By limiting the power of the government you keep power in the peoples and states hands. When the United States was created it wanted separation for Britain because they had to much power and control over the colonies so far away. The Declaration of Independence was written and signed then sent to the king of Britain. The colonies wanted Independence from Britain because they did not want a monarchy rule.
James Madison wrote The Federalist 51 in order to state how the future government would make liberty possible in society. Madison believed that each branch should be, for the most part, independent. Montesquieu previously thought of this idea of separation of power. He then goes on to explain that to ensure that each branch is independent, it would mean that the citizens would select the president, legislators, and the judges. However, framers found great difficulty in making the correct decision when it came to an election.
Checks and Balances Secondly, the separation of power provides a system of shared powers or checks and balances. By that I mean, that each branch has the power to limit or check the other two. The Constitution gave the most checks to Congress or the legislature. They did this because the framers did not want the president to gain enough power to become a tyrant.
Locke ideas came before the American Revolution and were the foundation for the U.S Constitution and partly reasons for the revolution. Though these men were not able to live through or the start of their notions, the people took a hold of them impacting government systems. Niccolo Machiavelli was an
Therefore, he called for all three types of Government functions should be performed by distinct persons within the spheres of powers assigned to them. Montesquieu’s “Separation” took the form, not of impassable barriers and unalterable frontiers, but of mutual restraints, or of what afterwards came to be known as “checks and balances”. The three organs much act in concert, not that their respective functions should not ever touch one another. If this limitation is respected and preserved, “it is impossible for that situation to arise which Locke and Monstequieu regarded as the eclipse of liberty-the monopoly, or disproportionate accumulation of power in one sphere.”
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
Separation of powers refers to the idea that the major body of a state should be functioned independently and that no individual of a state should have power separately. Therefore, separation of powers means that splitting up of responsibilities into different divisions to limit any one branch from expurgating the functions of another. The intention of the doctrine is to prevent the application of powers and provide for checks and balances of governing a state. It is a doctrine of constitutional law under which the three branches of government, executive power, legislative power, and judicial power are been kept separately to prevent abuse of power.
