How Does The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

Constitution Guards Against Tyranny

Can you imagine if the United States didn’t have a constitution? The Constitution was written in Philadelphia in 1787. 55 individuals all respond to the call for a Constitutional Convention. The Constitution was created to replace the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was too weak, so we needed a new constitution to prevent tyranny. How does The Constitution, a document that replaced the Articles of Confederation, guard against tyranny, harsh and absolute power? The Constitution guards against tyranny by Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and The Big State-Small State Compromise.

Federalism removes existence of tyranny because it gives the separation of power between

Some evidence that James Madison provides is, “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…. (L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” (Source: James Madison, Federalist Paper #47.) This statement defines that one branch shall not be more powerful than another. This is called The Separation of

The Constitution has provided Article 1, Section 2 that states, 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; and until (a census is taken within three years) the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island… one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.”(Source: Constitution of the United States of America, 1787.) This states that even though that bigger states have more representatives, it puts the limit that the number of representatives for each state by ensuring that one state doesn’t exceed one for every thirty thousand people. This prevents tyranny in the House of Representatives. In Article 1, Section 3 it states, “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.” (Source: Constitution of the United States of America, 1787.) This article means that every state has two senators so it doesn’t matter how big a population of a state is. This ensures that tyranny doesn’t