First Draft
Throughout history, empires have arisen through tyrant leaders, tyranny being a cruel and unfair treatment by people with power over others, such an example would be the Roman Empire. Even though they began as a republic, they soon became under control of a series of tyrannical leaders. So, how has America, as a republic itself, been able to avoid any tyrant takeovers? The answer lies in our constitution. Supported greatly by the Federalists such as Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and most notably, James Madison, the constitution outlined that the government would be split into 3 distinct and separate powers, so no persons were to be in multiple positions in any of the three powers. They also created checks so that each branch had
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In the case of one branch trying to gain total control, the other two branches have legal power to hold them in their spot. Presidents can veto legislative bills and congress and override that, judicial can review their passed bills and deem them unconstitutional and throw them out. These checks have been created to ensure no one power gains complete control. Another form of check is State versus Central government. To create a form of double jeopardy, States have their own powers, as to make sure the central government itself does not become a tyranny (Doc A). States have powers specific to their needs, such as, Establishing schools, regulate in-state business and giving our marriage licenses. Americas central government conducts all foreign affairs and is in charge of the United States Mint. Both state and central government has the powers to tax and create laws, theses powers were invested into them so they control themselves and each …show more content…
The number of representatives in the house is based on a state's populous, each state gets a minimum 1 representative and 1 more for the allotted amount of people in the state. This came from the virginia plan, to make it fair to big states to gain more representation in congress, the New Jersey plan favored small states and is featured in the senate where each state gets 2 representatives. Small states wanted an equal say and a voice in congress so two senators were elected in each state (Doc D). No senator can serve in both senate and house at the same time in order to keep them separate and no Congress member can be a judge or president while still serving as the elected official (Doc B). When the senate or house wants to pass a bill it must pass both the Senate and the House and then will be sent to the president to check, and it will be either signed or vetoed, so that congress cannot pass laws that are in favor of their power (Doc
Federalism splits the powers between the state and federal government. They also share powers like taxing, making laws, enforcing laws, setting up courts, and borrowing money. This lets the states take care of
The congress is divided into two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives (Doc. D). In the Senate representation is equal; each state has two senators (Doc. D). In the other house, the House of Representatives, the number of representatives is based on population (Doc. D). The House gives the large states more representation because of the larger population giving them more congressmen. The Senate helps the small states gain representation by being giving all states the same amount of senators. This prevents large states from controlling all decisions or the large states being overpowered by the small states. This evidence further explains why a bicameral legislature against tyranny because no state holds most of the power and are all represented in a way that gives power to
In doc D, the authors explain that by having two houses in congress, one based on population and one on equality, neither the large or small states will have too much
How Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny? Shay’s Rebellion. The Boston Massacre. Lexington and Concord. The Revolutionary War.
According to James Madison, “…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 … the three branches should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” (Doc. C). This means that the three branches can check on each other and keep each other balanced and that the powers among each branch is equal. In the constitution it states, “that court can declare laws unconstitutional.” (Doc. C). This is an example of how the judicial branch can check the legislative branch so each branch has a way to check the other branches. The system of check and balances guards against tyranny because without a system of checks and balances, one branch of government may become overpowered and there may be a
After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, early Americans were hesitant to create a new federal government and feared that it would become too powerful. To avoid this, the Founding Fathers created the Constitution of the United States of America. The new Constitution was based on several basic principles that limited the power of the federal government and kept it from gaining too much power. These systems helped set a base for the federal government while limiting the powers that it withheld. One of the main parts of the federal government are the three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.
The central government has Delegated powers (section 8 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution) and the states have reserved powers (Killian). The Supremacy clause which made the Constitution the supreme law of the land also reinforced the power of the central government. Finally, to appease the fears of the central government having too much power the Constitution established the separation of powers which gave each branch (legislative, executive, judicial) the power to check the other. This limits the power given to the central government to the powers stated in the
To prevent from one branch of government having all power, and therefore having tyranny, (Madison FP # 47) Checks and Balances was added to the defenses of the constitution. There are three branches of government: Legislative Branch (Congress), Executive Branch (President), and Judicial Branch (The Courts). These three branches work together to check one another to make sure the power is evenly distributed and balanced, hence the name Checks and Balances. The way it works is that the Legislative Branch (Congress) can check the Executive Branch (President) by approving Presidential nominations, being able to override a President’s veto, and can impeach the President, him or her, from office. The Legislative Branch can check the Judicial Branch by having Senate confirm Presidential nominations and by being able to impeach judges and remove them from office. The President can check the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, and can check the Judicial Branch by nominating judges. The Judicial Branch can check the Legislative Branch by declaring laws unconstitutional, and can check the Executive Branch by declaring presidential acts unconstitutional. (Madison FP # 51) All three branches of government work together to make sure no branch is abusing their limited power, by using the system Checks and
When the Framers were writing the constitution which they knew would govern the United States of America to the country it is today, they were pretty clear that they didn’t want any of the three branches of government to become corrupted or overpowered. To keep the balance of power uncorrupted, the Framers decided to give each branch of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, power to keep each other in check, with a system of checks and balances. Each branch of government has many of these powers, but within the vast writings of the constitution, each branch has one which is key to keeping the United States a stable nation. The executive branch of government, which houses the president, has the power to veto, or reject, laws passed
The states feared a strong, central government which is the reason the Articles of Confederation were so weak. In order to appease the fear of the states, the Constitution divided the power between the central government and the states. This division of power is known as Federalism (Doc A). With Federalism the central and state governments can “control each other” but also “be controlled by [themselves].” This prevented one government from gaining too much power. For instance, a state cannot ignore a federal tax law because the central government has the power to enforce the law. This safeguard is important because it not only prevents the central government from gaining too much power but it also allows the states to set policies specific for their inhabitants.
In the Constitution, the first house (House of Representatives) is described saying, “Representatives.. shall be appointed… according to… (population)... The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand but each state shall have at least one representative.” (Document D) The second house, Senate, is explained saying, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislatures thereof for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.” (Document D)
Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that, “Representatives…shall be apportioned among several states...according to their respective Numbers.” Apportionment is the mathematical process of dividing and allocating the four hundred and thirty five seats in the House of Representatives among the fifty states based on the population figures collected by the Census Bureau. This process, according to the Constitution, must be conducted “within every subsequent Term of ten Years.” Each of the fifty states is guaranteed one representative. The number of House of Representatives from each state fluctuates every ten years due to population deviation.
Powers that belong to the central government includes to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army/navy, declare war, print coin money, set up post offices, and make immigration laws. Power that belong to the sates government include to set up local government, hold elections, establish schools, pass marriage/divorce, and regulate in-state business.They share powers such as taxes, borrow money, set-up courts, make laws, and enforce laws.the central and state government arise to the rights of people. They will control each other and control
The separation of powers and checks and balances is a system that was created in America by the founding fathers in the constitution of the United States. The separation of power plays an important role of keeping the three branches which are legislative, executive, and judicial in the government systems equal to one another and that neither branches becomes too powerful. Each branch has its very own power and duties to serve to the people and government. All three branches play a significant role in checks and balances and separation of powers, in our government and rely on each other to make sure that all of the power is equally distributed.
The Senate needs to ratify all laws by a two-third vote. The vice president who is the head of the Senate is not permitted to vote, but in case of a tie he is allowed to. The House of Representatives is made of 435 representatives, each is elected by his state and serve two years. The number of representatives depends on the state population. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate elect their own leaders; the part that controls the house, is called the majority leader while the other is called the minority leader.