Reference no: EM133724028

Introduction/background
After the draft of the Constitution was finished, it was sent to the states to be approved (ratified). Approval was done state-by-state in conventions, with delegates selected to attend and vote on approval for the state. At least 9 states had to ratify the Constitution before it could enter into force and a new United States government created.

The Federalists campaigned in favor of ratification and the Anti-Federalists campaigned against. They wrote what became the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, respectively. One concern was that the new national government not become a "tyranny" like what they had experienced with England: an unrepresentative government that would rule arbitrarily and overrule the people and the state governments.

Federalists argued that there were safeguards against tyranny. One safeguard was that the national government would be limited and restrained by separating the powers of government into three branches and giving each branch powers to obstruct the others (checks and balances).

The Question
Here is the main question to answer in about 200 words:

Given what you have learned in class, and your own experiences, would James Madison still think that the safeguard of separation of powers and checks and balances protects citizens from a too-powerful government? Explain your answer, whether "yes" or "no" and give some specific examples of separation of powers and checks and balances have worked (or not) as Madison envisioned they would. Be sure to show that you understand Madison's main arguments, as well as what separation of powers and checks and balances are.

Obviously, answers to these questions could be very long: you will want to be concise and focus on a few main points. An important part of this assignment is to demonstrate that you have read, understand, and can use the course readings in this short answer. Just googling the answer will not be sufficient. Make explicit references to the course materials. For example, you can say "In the textbook, separation of powers is defined as..." It can be appropriate to include very short quotes from the textbook and Federalist papers, properly attributed to the source. Quotes should be used sparingly in a short assignment like this one. All wording that is not your own, all facts that are not common knowledge, and all ideas from others need to be appropriately cited to avoid plagiarism. You are expected to write your own answers. Use of AI (artificial intelligence) would be considered cheating.

Your responses to other students:
Write replies to the discussion posts of two other students. Each post should be about 50 words. Your response should do more than agree or disagree. You can explain why you agree or disagree, add to the explanation, or compare their response to your own. You could mention ideas or examples that you used in your initial post. Of course, all need to disagree politely and with respect.