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How Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Dbq

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The article of confederation is a document that the United States of America made in Philadelphia 1787. This document established the functions of the national government after it declared independence from Great Britain. This had a problem though, it did not help defend against tyranny. The need for a stronger Federal government, it soon became apparent and eventually led to the constitution. The constitution was written in 1787 by James Maddison. The Constitution guards against tyranny by having federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances and big states vs small states. First, federalism helped to protect against tyranny by having federalism. According to James Madison, “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments” (Document A). The quote is explaining the idea of federalism government is divided into a central and state government that controls each other and themselves. This quote demonstrates how the Constitution guards against tyranny. …show more content…

According to James Madison, “ The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny΅ (Document B). The quote is explaining that all powers in government should be divided into three, In the Constitution, the three branches are legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch has its own power and responsibilities. This quote is important because that everyone has a job no one is slacking taking too much power so they divided equally into different parts so everyone has a place in their

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