The first guard against tyranny was federalism, which is the divided and shared powers of both the central and state government. James Madison incorporates this guard into the Constitution by detailing what exactly it does and by mentioning it's other name, "compound republic" (Federalist Paper #51) or government. Federalism protects against tyranny, because it assures the nation that the power is not only held by the government, but also by the people. Considering that each government has its own jurisdiction, they must work together to benefit the nation. …show more content…
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny" (Federalist Paper #47); Power separation protects against tyranny because the branches avert it by preventing any department from controlling the government on its