Federalism: How Does The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny?

Superior Essays
How does the Constitution guard against tyranny?

Federalism in the Pursuance of the Constitution “Federalism isn’t about the states’ rights. It’s about dividing power to better protect individual liberty.”After the American Revolution, which lasted from 1775 to 1783, the newly freed United States of America wanted to created a framework for government that prevented anything resembling the reign of King George and Parliament. Although federalism was not directly mentioned in the Constitution, the idea of it was created through the strategic writing of our forefathers to ensure that our liberty as a people was protected. The US constitution was a document created by our founding fathers to guard against tyranny, a cruel or oppressive rule
…show more content…
The framers of the constitution wanted to create a solid and strong federal government. Because of the carefully constructed lines within the constitution, a balance of powers between the states and the federal government was created, with the federal government in charge. In the Constitution, federal government is granted with power over issues of national concern, while the state governments have jurisdiction over issues of more local concern. The Supremacy clause explains the key concept of federalism because it guards against any law that threatens the goal of the Constitution and further establishes the powers that the federal government has. The Tenth Amendment, similar to the supremacy clause, again further illustrates the limits of the power held by both the federal government and the states.Throughout the constitution federalism is …show more content…
The Elastic clause, also known as the Necessary and Proper Clause, is a great example of powers that are implied rather than stated. The Elastic Clause, which can be found in Article 1 Section 8, grants Congress the power to “...make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the[enumerated] Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer Thereof." This guards against tyranny because it states the implied powers of the state but also allows for flexibility and growth which guards against tyranny because it allows for easy change if something isn’t working unlike a tyrannical government, in which case the decision for change falls under one person and seldom happens. The constitution is a living document, so in order for it to maintain its’ goals, the document must be able to change with the times and needs for our country. The elastic Clause basically just further establishes the powers granted by a federalist government and allows for the government to change and grow over

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Federalism guards against tyranny in many ways. ”In the Compound republic of america, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments.” This…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    What is federalism? Federalism “is a unique relationship between all levels of government that gives each some degree of independence from each other but definitely binds them together through the United States Constitution.” (pg. 69) 2.…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalism prevents tyranny because it separates the power so it's not all in one place. This shows separation of power because the government and the states have their own laws/rules which they can enforce as they please. One federal power is the power to declare war.(Document A). This is a federal law…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Carmelo Figueroa Per. 4 November 2, 2017 How Did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny? Tyranny is one of the reasons that governments have gone to anarchy; People have rebelled and started riots or even wars due to the oppression of tyranny. The founding fathers of America wanted a government that was strong, but not too strong.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The federal government has certain powers for making important decisions while state governments can make their own laws governing local issues. They share powers to make sure one doesn't get to powerful then the other. This is like the system of Checks and Balances. The Constitution limits many powers in our government. The Constitution has a check for anything and everything is always in order.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Our society continuously evaluates the balancing of powers between the state government and the federal government. It is important in a democracy for the powers to be equally distributed, for if one person in the government takes total control, it would no longer be a democracy. A government with too much power isn’t a good thing, for the society itself would change. One of the main things that helps our society balance the powers between the governments are the three divisions of government. The three branches of government consist of the legislative branch, the judiciary branch, and the executive branch.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalism helps guard against tyranny by separating the state and federal courts. This makes it difficult for one government figure to seize control. James Madison…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During and after the Revolutionary War, each state set up their own government and laws to give themselves power and rights. The states did not want the same thing to happen to them by a stronger government, that happened with the British government creating taxes and laws against the colony, so the states gave the central government limited powers. The attempt to create a limited government in the Articles of Confederation failed because it gave the central government limited powers. The American government couldn’t effectively create and enforce rules because the states had all the real power, which made the central government weak.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tyranny will not be allowed in the United States. Since the Articles of Confederation were passed, it began to become chaotic. In 1787, fifty-five delegates representing 12 of the 13 states came together in Philadelphia to help revise the document and eventually made a new one; The Constitution. How will they make a new Constitution avoiding Tyranny? Tyranny is when an individual, few, or many seize control of other people.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When is it that a statement supportive of freedom becomes an implement used to enslave others? An example such as this occurs with the inclusion of the Elastic Clause in the United States Constitution. As a consequence of its imperfections, the clause contributed fuel for dissent amongst politicians throughout the years, and irritates the counterbalance between anarchy and oligarchy long supported by the United States. Additionally, it leads to conflict not as a direct repercussion of the constriction of civilians or government, but due to the encouragement of concocting laws designed to benefit the citizens of this nation. Despite the objective, the outcome equated to tragedy, as it incapacitates Americans in an undetectable way.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalism in the constitution helps guard against tyranny by giving neither the state or central government enough power to tyrannize. According to Doc. A, “James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, 1788”, “power...is first divided between two distinct governments” Also in the Venn diagram on Doc A neither the state or local government possesses all the power. They either have to share a power or only one side gets that certain power. This helps guard against tyranny because it is preventing the central or local government from holding all power.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the constitutional convention, the federalist and the anti-federalist went head to head trying to create new laws for government. Many articles were written by James Madison; these articles were the federalist papers. Within these paper, Madison outlines that the constitution protects against tyranny by dividing power between state and government, by separating government into branches, having a checks and balances system, and having equal state representation among the states. In document A, James Madison states that power is “First divided between two distinct governments, state and federal.” This describes the idea of federalism, where state and federal governments share power; powers like declaring war and printing money belong…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Before the ratification of the Constitution of 1787, the Articles of Confederation gave most of the power to the states. However, the Federalists wanted the national government to hold the majority of the power and not the states. They were in favor of limiting the power of the states. They did not believe a Bill of Rights was necessary because the state constitutions should protect the individual rights. Federalists believed that the best way to protect their rights was through a large republic.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalism was crucial in the Constitution and has remained the same throughout all of the United States’ history. First off it is important to know what it is and the history of it to see its true importance. Federalism is the division of power among the central government and several regional governments. This was a…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The framers of the Constitution included three main components: federalism, separation of powers, and the Bill of Rights. Federalism was established to increase power within the central national government, without striping the power of the states. This was to provide competition between the nation and state, so a sense of limitation could be taken into effect. On the other hand, separation of powers was created so that the government was divided into three different branches, each having some power of their own, as well as some power over the two other branches. The purpose was to bring in different views of public interests, how to govern, and different affiliations with private interests, through checks and balances.…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays