Dbq Essay On Tyranny

Tyranny. Something that has torn apart nations and civilizations for centuries. No wonder our founding fathers worked so hard to inhibit it. James Madison, the father of the constitution, wrote that power in the hands of one, few, or many is the definition of tyranny. The existing constitution, The Articles of Confederation, was not working for the young America. There was no chief executive, judicial system, or a central government to unite the states. After just separating from a tyrant king, the framers of our constitution wanted to create a strong defense against tyranny. The systems protecting our government against tyranny is federalism, separation of powers, and balance of powers.

The system of many states united under one government but still remain independent on problems within their state is called federalism; which preserves our country from tyranny. “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments,” says James Madison in Federalist Paper #51(Doc A). Madison is referring to the state and national government. The system of federalism allows the national government to partially control and unify the states, and yet the states still
The compound republic of America is divided into a national and state government (Doc A). The power of the states and the power if the national government are separated because the states need to make decisions based specifically on the problems from their state. This helps the citizens have a bigger voice. Another reason is that the government is separated into three branches (Doc B). These branches each focus on one part of the government to run. For instance, the executive exclusively carries out laws, and the legislature makes law. This keeps the different powers of the government aren’t in the hands of one branch. Thereupon, the separation of powers keeps America from