In the eighteenth century, Montesquieu initially introduced the necessity for a “separation of powers” so that no branch or group could gain total control over another group and their decisions. At the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, the framers drafted three specific articles, separating power into three branches: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. To maintain the separation, and to protect the nation from tyranny, checks and balances were created. Aside from their own power, each branch was given some power over the other two branches. For example, the President can veto Congress (executive power over legislative power), and Congress can influence the president (through the power to control appointments to the judiciary and other executive …show more content…
Local and national considerations would influence “state conventions of delegates elected by the people of each state” in order to complete the ratification process. During the ratification process, two opposing sides emerged, the Federalists and the Antifederalists. Federalists were advocates of Federalism, supporting a strong government and the principles in the Constitution (including a strong national government), while the Antifederalists were a group of people who opposed the authorization of the 1787 Constitution and supported a “decentralized” government rather than a unified one. Throughout the ratification process of the Constitution, these two groups fought over how much power the national government should have, the safeguards needed to prevent a misuse of power, and the possible source of