Guard Against Tyranny

The outline for our government all started with the Articles of Confederation, which failed because of a weak federal government, no court system, and no way to enforce laws. However, from the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution sprouted. The final product of the Consitituion was perfect; a bill of rights to ensure people's rights and numerous ways to guard against everyone's nightmare- tyranny. Tyranny is rule by a dictator, king, or strong group, and it results when rulers have too much power. Federalism, seperation of powers, and checks and balances were several ways the Constituion guarded against tyranny. To begin with, the first guard against tyranny was federalism, which is the division of power between the central and state government. According to James Madison, a few poers shared by the state and federal government is the power to tax, make and enforce laws, borrow money, and set up courts (Document A). However, to keep the states and federal government from gaining too much control, they were both given some individual powers. Some powers states have is the power to set up local governments, hold elections, pass marriage and
Legislative, executive, and judicial are the three branches. The legislative branch, which consists of a senate and house of representatives, makes laws. The president and vice-president make up the executive branch, which is the branch mainly responsible for enforcing laws. Finally, there is the judicial branch. In the judicial branch, there is the Supreme Court and many smaller courts. The judicial branch is responsible for interpretting laws; this is all according to Document B, also written by James Madison. In a nutshell, seperation of powers guards against tyranny because it divides the powers into three branches so no branch can overpower