Defending Against Tyranny
According to Dictionary.com, tyranny is “arbitrary or unrestrained use of power;despotic abuse of authority” (Dictionary.com). America was once under the Tyrannical power of England. They were taxed unfairly and had no individual rights. Eventually America won their freedom and had many written forms of government before they finally came up with the American Constitution. The Constitution protects against tyranny through Popular Sovereignty and Checks and Balances.
Thomas Paine once wrote “ The laying a Country desolate with Fire and Sword, declaring War against the natural rights of all Mankind, and extirpating the Defenders thereof from the Face of the Earth, is the Concern of every Man to whom Nature hath given the Power
of feeling” (Paine). This means that human beings have natural rights and that when these rights are taken away, it should be a concern to anyone who has feelings. England had installed tyranny by imposing unfair taxes and taking away our basic rights. This lead the American people to rebel, leading to events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. This eventually lead to war between the British and American people. This shows that the people of America were willing to die to be free from tyranny. Eventually, the British gave up and America was formed. According to History Alive! America Through the Modern Times “When the American war for independence ended, no one was happier than a serious Virginia Patriot named James Madison. And no one was more worried about the future of the United States” (Hart). This lead Madison to create the Articles of Confederation. According to History.com “Congress was also given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. However, the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce, issues that led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 for the creation of new federal laws”(History.com) The inability to tax and raise an army left us without any money to pay back our debt and with no army to fight the British forces to the West. This forced us to call a Constitutional Convention to reconsider the Articles of Confederation. This is where we eventually agreed on the Constitution. It was made to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
The most important defense against tyranny that the Constitution provides is a system of Checks and Balances. Checks and Balances is a system where branches of government can check each other and stop decisions from being made. A prime example of this is impeachment. Impeachment is when a government official is put on trial to determine if they’ve broken a law. If they have, they are removed from power. This prevents tyranny because the people have the power to stop a corrupt official from having power. According to the Constitution “ The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” Another example of Checks and Balances is Judicial Review. Judicial Review is when the Supreme court looks at a law to determine if it is constitutional. This defends against tyranny because it stops the Executive and Legislative branch from possessing the power to make all laws. The final example of Checks and Balances is Presidential Override. If the President vetoes a law, Congress can still win with a ⅔ vote. This defends against tyranny because one person can’t control the laws made. This is how Checks and Balances defends against tyranny.
The second most important defense against tyranny that the constitution provides is Popular Sovereignty. According to Dictionary.com, Popular Sovereignty is “the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will” (Dictionary.com). This means that people vote on every decision that is made by the government. An example of Popular Sovereignty is the general elections. Every four years America votes for a new president to make decisions for country. We also elect senators to represent us in congress. This defends against Tyranny by letting the people choose who is in power instead of one person constantly staying in power. Another example of Popular Sovereignty is