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James Madison's Definition Of Tyranny

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As James Madison said, “If tyranny and oppression came to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” Tyranny is the use of harsh absolute power in the hands of one, few, or many people. The Constitution guarded against tyranny by instituting the Separation of Powers, Federalism, and Checks and Balances. The first main idea is the Separation of Powers. “The accumulation of all powers, Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, maybe justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny,” which is said in James Madison’s Federalist paper, number 47. By separating the power, no one person or group could gain too much of it. The three branches of government are Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The Executive makes the laws, the Legislative enforces the laws, and the Judicial determines if laws are broken. Separation of Powers began when James Madison drafted the Constitution. …show more content…

As said in James Madison’s Federalist paper, number 51, “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is the first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate governments.” Some powers that were given to the Federal government is to regulate trade, declare war, and print and coin money. Some powers that were given to the State governments were to hold elections, establish schools, and pass marriage and divorce laws. By distributing powers between the Federal and State governments, neither can become tyrants, which means they will help keep each other in check. Federalism ensures that the Federal government doesn’t have too much say in what happens to the

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