How the Constitution Guards Against Tyranny (Essay Sample)

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How the Constitution Guards Against Tyranny
During the summer of 1787, delegates adding up to fifty five persons representing the twelve of the thirteen states assembled in Philadelphia to compute the national government. The underlying concern was that the existing administration, under the articles of confederation were not doing their job as expected. It considered too weak. The purpose for this meeting was to create a strong central government without letting any one individual or group of persons get too much power. This was the challenge which they were faced with, to frame a government that was strong enough to take care of the needs of the new nation and which yet at the same time did not create any kind of tyranny, that is, the unrestrained use of powers. They knew that in a democracy, a system in which those with the greatest number tend to prevail, the rights of the minority could be threatened.
In order to achieve a system of governance which was free of tyranny, they included in the constitution several ways through which instances of tyranny could be thwarted. This they did by way of federalism, the separation of powers and checks and balances as well as small vs. large states.
Federalism
This was the first guard undertaken against tyranny, it meant the idea that power is shared between the state and the central (federal) government. Federalism as a system recognized the sovereign independence of both national government and state government. It protected against tyranny by letting the two governments to have differentiated powers. That is, the state government was given powers to deal with holding elections, passing marriage and divorce laws and setting up of schools as well. On the other hand, the federal government had the power to declare war, print money, making immigration laws, regulating trade among others. There were other responsibilities which were mutually undertaken such as borrowing money, setting up courts, making and enforcing laws in addition to taxes. Federalism guarded against tyranny since it ensured that the two governments had their own powers.
Separation of Powers
Separation of powers provides an external check on the tyrannical impulses of officials. This it achieves by ensuring that the ambitions of individuals in one department will counteract those in another. These countervailing ambitions are effective against tyrannical tendencies because individuals in one department can invoke the threat of rewards and penalties against tyrannical individuals in another department. This involved a system or principle of allocating powers to the three arms of government, these branches being the executive, judiciary and the legislative. The legislative is further split into the senate and the House of Representatives, the executive consists of the president and the vice president the last branch is the judiciary which is the Supreme Court. Separation of powers helps in curbing tyranny by separating the government into branches which posses’ different responsibilities.
Checks and Balances
This involved ceilings on all the branches of the government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or cancel those acts of another that fall within its purview. Thus each branch checks on the other so that none abuses their powers. That is, the courts can declare the president’s acts unconstitutional, the legislature can impeach and remove the president from office and the president on his part can veto and nullify the legislation of congress. Through check and balances, tyranny is curbed as it ensures that each of the three branches is not miss-using its powers or using too much powers.