Why Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

Written in 1787 by James Madison, the United States Constitution was created to guard against tyranny in the new government system. In the words of James Madison, “The accumulation of all powers ... in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” The people of the thirteen states were afraid of tyranny due to the tyrant leading their previous country, King George III. The last thing they wanted was for their new world to be a tyranny, just like the one they escaped from, so they created the Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny by separating the powers of the federal and state governments, splitting the government into three branches, and attempting to give big states and little states equal representation.
The federal government has powers that are more general and apply to the country as a whole, while the state government has powers specific to their area. According to Madison in Federalist Paper #51 written in 1788, federalism guards against tyranny because, “The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” (Document A) They are able to control their separate areas of government while still controlling the power of the other, ensuring that the other does not accumulate too much power and turn the country into a