Tyranny Dbq Essay

1037 Words3 Pages

Tyranny is a problem that many countries have faced during history, and it can lead to disastrous consequences. Hitler was a tyrant, and while he was controlling Germany millions of people were killed. For fear of outcomes like this, the framers of the constitution provided ways to ensure our country would never face tyranny. During the spring of 1787, delegates gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a Constitutional Convention to reconstruct the current constitution, or the Articles of Confederation. The 55 men were aiming to create a constitution that separated the power in the government to keep one person or group from gaining too much. The framers gave the Constitution four main safeguards to prevent tyrants in our country, federalism, checks and balances, the small state- large state compromise,and separation of powers. These four main guards have kept our country tyranny free for the past 250 years. …show more content…

This meant that they would separate the state and central powers. In the Federalist Papers, James Madison talks about federalism as, “-the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments-” (Doc A 143) He brings up the social contract that is made between the people and the government that insures safety and order. States can control more personal issues with their citizens, including marriage laws and establishing schools. The federal government can declare war and coin money, powers that affect the country as a whole. This prevents the central government from gaining too much power over the states and making decisions that wouldn’t benefit them all. This ensures that the states will always hold their power, but it also protects the central government from the states revolting. Federalism is a vital part to the prevention of tyranny in our

Open Document