After the Revolutionary War, the United States adopted the Articles of Confederation which created a weak central government while reserving nearly all power for the individual states. The problem was that the central government had little jurisdiction over states or individuals which reflected during Shay’s Rebellion when it couldn’t unite an army. In the Constitutional Convention, a federal system was established through the Constitution by the Framers who were influenced by the ideals of other philosophers.The Constitution creates a system of separate institutions that share powers. The division of power would allow a check and balance system to ensure there is no corruption of power. The Framers wanted to ensure the government did not become tyrant and deprave people's rights. The main goal was to limit the government yet be strong enough to deal with issues.
The Framers not only wanted to stay away from establishing a tyranny like the way Great Britain governed, they sought to fulfill maximum freedom despite human imperfection. Madison wrote in the Federalist papers, " If men were angels, no government would be necessary... you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself"(Wilson, 25). Laws and customs were inadequate checks on political power and thus the separation of powers was essential to limit the government. In order to accomplish this the Framers adopted the system of checks and balances. This principle is compatible with the democratic ideals since the democratic ideals of a representative democracy are separation of powers and federalism.
Despite Great Britain’s tyranny, it had a good government system which led to the development of the former government of the U.S. It divided power between the king who enforced the law, Parliament which made the laws, and the judges of English courts who interpreted the laws. Montesquieu, an Enlightenment thinker, advocated that in order to...