Federalism Dbq Essay

In times of struggle for an organized and protective government, fifty five delegates were called to ratify the amendments. The Unites States was a brand new, independent nation, but it was not at all prospering. War debt and the inability of congress to tax led to the realization that the government needed to be reformed. While it was not their original intention, these delegates ultimately created the Constitution of the United States of America. However, the constant fear of one man or group obtaining too much power still loomed. Therefore the delegates had to make it so this document would guard against tyranny, or a nation under a cruel and oppressive government. To prevent tyranny, the Constitution contained federalism, a separation of

This mixed government kept power to the people and prevented the central government from becoming too powerful. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments [state and federal]. The states had their own reserved powers while the federal government had the delegated ones (Doc A). The shared powers of the two were called concurrent powers. Through these, state sovereignty, or power to the people, was maintained and both powers could even tax and make laws. One of the most significant pieces of the constitution is the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments. These describe the everyday basic rights of the people in which the federal government can not intervene. By putting these in place the creators of the constitution ensured that the people would always have their rights and there was no chance of the government taking them away, just as had happened with England. Federalism is not the only example of separation of

In the making of the constitution the constant aim was to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other. In other words, each branch shall have certain powers over the others to create a complete balanced government (Doc C). These checks would be key to the balance of the three powers, allowing no singular branch to have too much authority over another. For example while the legislative branch creates the laws, the executive must approve of them, and they do have the check (ability) to veto them if they so desire. Judicial review is also significant in the fact that the judiciary reviews certain actions made by both the executive and legislative branches (Doc C). Under these conditions, no one branch can obtain too much power in the government. These checks along with many others are the reasons for the long lasting success in the prevention of