Similarities Between John Locke And The Constitution

into the hands of one person or a group of people, which would create tyranny. To avoid this a French philosopher named Baron de Montesquieu advocated the creation of three distinct branches of government. John Locke had suggested separating the legislative and executive powers while Montesquieu added the need to separate the judiciary as well. He explained that the need to have a separate judiciary would be important because without it, people would have no liberties. This is the tripartite which the Founding Fathers had adopted at the Constitutional Convention. The branches were separated as follows: Article I gives Congress powers and limits as well as creating the two sections of it, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article

In these branches, “the legislature would make the laws, the [executive branch/president] would enforce the legislature’s will, and the judicial branch would interpret the laws and resolve disputes according to the law” (p.55). In order to help prevent the accumulation of power in one branch or the other, a system of checks and balances was put into place. Also included in the Constitution is the idea of a social contract, which is a theory that citizens give up certain rights for individual freedoms; the Constitution is a type of social contract. This social contract idea was originally introduced by John Locke, but as added to the Constitution by Thomas Jefferson. My thesis is: while the power fluctuates between branches, the Judicial Branch is the most powerful because they can rule against things they find to be

Enumerated/expressed powers are powers that are given to the federal government which are specifically described in the Constitution. Statutory powers are powers given by legislation and are not outlined in the Constitution. Implied powers are powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution, but exist in order to implement expressed/enumerated powers; this is granted to Congress through the ‘Necessary and Proper Clause’. Inherent powers are powers that are not in the Constitution, however in terms of executive power they are the result of tradition and are needed to get the job done properly. The enumerated powers of Congress can be found in Section 8 or Article I and are: the power to tax and spend those taxes on the nation’s defense and general welfare; to borrow money on the credit of the United States which creates an obligation to repay the debt owed; to regulate commerce with foreign nations as well as between states and with Native American tribes; to establish requirements of naturalization and bankruptcy laws; to coin money and issue currency (through this they created the Federal Reserve using their implied powers granted by the Necessary and Proper Clause to regulate money); to establish post offices and post roads as well as having the power to punish those who use mail for