Tyranny Poster
By Sunjay Joshi
Federalism
Federalism is one of the four ways our constitution guards against tyranny. The definition of Federalism is, "the distribution of power in an organization (as a government) between a national authority and the constituent units." Federalism gives fair power to the national government and state government. Federalism prevents the national and state governments from gaining absolute power over the nation and the nations people.
Separation of Powers
Separation of Powers is another way that our constitution guards against tyranny. The definition of Separation of Powers is, "the allocation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers to branches of government independent of each other." It helps guard against tyranny by just separating powers. This way each branch will be in charge of one of three branches in the government. For example, the Legislative branch is in charge of creating laws. Now the branches have 33.33%, so one person or group can't run off with the government and do what they want.
Checks and Balances
Checks and Balances is a great way to help prevent tyranny. The definition of Checks and Balances is, "a system in which the different parts of an organization (such as a government) have powers that affect and control the other parts so that no part can become too powerful." The process of Checks and Balances is used to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful. Therefore, this reduces the chance of tyranny.
Big states vs Small states (The Great Compromise)
Finally, the last way to guard against tyranny is to allow the small states to have power similar to the bigger states. The Great Compromise means that each states has two reresentatives in the Senate. This spreads power between all states which helps guard against tyranny.