Essay On Separation Of Power

In 1787, delegates representing twelve out of the thirteen met to try to create a stronger central government for America. At this time the Constitution of the United States was written. On of the main priorities in writing the Constitution was to guard against tyranny. Tyranny in government is defined as harsh, absolute, power in one individual's hands. The constitution guarded against tyranny by creating a system of separation of powers, large states vs small states, checks and balances, and federalism. The separation of powers is very important in maintaining a balanced government. Separation of powers prevents one person in government from having too much power. In Federalist Paper #47, James Madison said, “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 justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny…Liberty requires that the three

The House of Representatives and Senate are in place to make sure each state gets an equal representation and the large states do not over power small states or vice versa. The House of Representatives is based on population and the Senate gives each state two votes. Article 1, Section 2 states, “The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative.” This gives equal representation to every individual and prevents one individual too much say. The Senate is composed of two senators from each state which allows each individual state to have equal representation. If this system was not in place, the larger states could have more say and have a bigger impact on the government which would be an example of tyranny. The House of Representatives and Senate keep the power balanced between the states and the individual