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Compare And Contrast The Articles Of Confederation Dbq

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What if Rhode Island had the same amount of representatives as California? The U.S. declared its independence from England because the king was a tyrant. Tyranny usually means harsh, absolute power in the hands of an individual. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the U.S. A new constitution was needed because the Articles of Confederation had a weak central government. They did not have an executive, a court system, nor the ability to tax. The Constitution was made in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia by 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states, excluding Rhode Island to fix the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through federalism, separation of power,checks and balances, and The Great …show more content…

Checks and balances prevents any one branch from having too much power by making three branches work together. Document C is an excerpt from the Federalist Paper #51 by James Madison explaining that each branch has the right to check one another. According to Document C, “...the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other…” This quote shows that each branch has the power to check another branch. The president can nominate judges to be apart of the court (executive checks judicial). The court can declare laws unconstitutional (judicial checks legislative). Last but not least, congress can override a president’s veto with ⅖ of the votes and can impeach the president.

The Constitution guarded against tyranny through The Great Compromise. The Great Compromise is the reason why we have the house of representatives and the senate. Document D is a small article from the Constitution describing The Great Compromise. According to Document B, “representatives shall not have at least one representative…. The senate shall be composed of two senators from each state.” This quote shows that they brought two ideas into one, and separate them into two houses. The house of representatives would be based on population and the senate would have two senators from each

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