The Constitutional Convention of 1787 Essay Example

The speaker declares, "We, the people of the United States..." We desire a more perfect union, but in order to do so, we had to first abolish the old. The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in May 1787, with a total of 55 representatives. Their most concerning issue was to develop and implement a better government plan. This was a problem because the central government lacked the authority to keep the government together. The fear of yet another dictating power was the justification behind the central government's lack of power. This fear would originate from the dictatorship from the monarch back in Britain so they deprived the central government of much power. "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 be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny….liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” As once stated by James Madison in 1788. (Doc B) 

One of the first methods used to prevent tyrannic uprising was by implementing federalism. Federalism put into motion because this would ensure no group could seize power from others and would have to be represented in order to make big national decisions. In order to change federal laws, they would need to get a huge part of the states to be in consensus. This basically meant that although the central government would have lots of power the states had the power to govern themselves.  For example one of the main powers that the states had was that they could create their own local government. (Doc A) A power that the government had over the states was being able to regulate trade and foreign relations.  Another reason why federalism helped prevent tyranny was due to some of the shared powers in between the government and the states.(Doc A)  Both the states and government shared some power such as the ability to set up courts, borrow money, and make laws.  This helped the states feel represented when dealing with a government. This would help prevent the government controlling all the money and laws. (Doc A) This would ensure that the central government could not oppress the individual states.

The separation of powers was another great way the framers prevented tyranny and here's why!  This system of government would divide the power in the central government amongst three branches.  These three branches would each play a crucial role in balancing the power in the government.  The three branches are the following Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches.(Doc B) The Legislative branch had the power to make laws, declare war, approve treaties, set presidential appointments and also would approve the nation's budget.  The executive branch keeps the Legislative branch in check. The Judicial branch had the power to decide the meaning of laws and also if the laws are constitutional. (Doc B) This made sure that the law process was not controlled by just one branch.  The Executive branch or sometimes known as the presidential branch has the power to appoint workers, enforce national laws, make treaties, make policies, suggest law, suggest budget, supreme court positions, and has the power of the executive order.  As previously stated the Judicial branch has the final decisions in some of the executive branch's power ensuring that the executive branch is kept in check and balance.( Doc B)  power the other branches have to agree. Therefore, by creating differ-ent branches of government, and separating important powers amongst the three branch-es, our Constitution guarantees that no one person or group would become a tyrant. (Doc B)

The framers also brilliantly came up with the system of separation of powers. This system would ensure that the power of each state was determined equally regardless of the size of the state. (Doc C) This would happen with the fact that regardless of size each state would get two senators with six year terms. (Doc C) The number of electoral votes that each state is given is determined by the size of the population. (Doc D)  The way this is determined is thirty-thousands per vote but every state is given at least one vote even if they do not reach the minimum required population. The population in every state is determined by the census which is done every ten years. The people in charge of the census is the central government and based on the population some states may gain or lose some votes. (Doc D) The equal representation of power is a good way of ensuring that tyranny doesn´t become a problem because the number of senators does not matter of the size of the state and this helps all states be given equal representation in upper government. The electoral votes are also equal because the amount of votes is determined by population meaning the more people in one state the more power.

The systems in place such as equal representation of power, federalism, separation of powers these things help guard against tyranny. It is important to understand how these systems guard against tyranny because these help the average citizen know what part they play in their government. This is an important day because this helps newer generations understand how close they are to their government.  The United States was the first modern country to write a constitution and create a government that divided up power and placed it in several hands.It is also good for people to know how the constitution is guarded against tyranny because this might help you see if you are being dictated by your local government. The more informed you are as a citizen the more you help the United States of America stay tyranny free.