Federalist 51

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

October 13, 2011

American Foundations

Section 17

Federalist 51

            In Federalist 51 James Madison Stated, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” This is the question that I will address in my essay.

            Madison poses a paradox in Federalist 51. He expresses that, “It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others,” This means that the individual government departments should be as self-reliant as possible, but at the same time check and balance each other.

            The Constitution helped to make the division of powers by establishing checks and balances.  It did this by making the separation of powers, and sovereignty. In separation of powers three divisions are made, the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. Each has their specific purpose. The Legislative branch has the ability to make laws, the Executive branch signs the bills into law or vetoes them, in which case the bill goes back to Congress and they can override it or let it die. The Judicial branch interprets the law. Sovereignty allows the states and the federal government to have separate governments while still being a part of the same government.

            The Constitution also came up with the idea of federalism. It outlines the things that the state governments can do that the Federal government can’t do. Some of these items are: marriage and divorce laws, medical, health and Obama care, and education laws. The federal government is not supposed to be able to infringe upon these, but they do anyway. Our value of the constitution has decreased over the years; many say that it is a living document and should change with the times. I say that the Constitution was inspired of God and written so that we could use it in these latter days.

            James Madison states in Federalist 51 two considerations that are particularly applicable to the federal system of America. They are 1^st, “In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government,” and 2^nd, “It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers.” These go along perfectly with Madison’s idea of federalism and that a separation of powers must be present in order for a government to succeed. These same values are in the Constitution today.

Our Constitution

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

American Foundations

Section 17

October 5, 2011

The Inspired Constitution

            What about our Constitution was inspired? There are many aspects of the document that were inspired; actually virtually all of it was inspired. I hope to hit some key reasons as to what parts were inspired. I would also like to answer another question. How is it that our Constitution was inspired?

            One part of the Constitution that was inspired is the preamble. It begins, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union….” These words are amazing! Imagine, we the people, that statement united the people of the American continent. I believe that the statement, “a more perfect union,” was inspired by God because the only way to come close to perfect is to be close to God. The founding fathers would not have made this statement if they weren’t close to God.

            The Preamble to the Constitution also states that they will, “Insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” How could they make such a promise if they did not have the power of God behind them? They wrote this constitution not only for the people of that day, but they had the foresight to write it for us in these latter days as well. They knew that his document would stand as a beacon of hope for centuries.

            The founding fathers also wrote that the government should be split into three separate branches, Judicial, Executive, and Legislative. They made a system of checks and balances. They knew without this system, power would become unequal and the government would become corrupt. This was inspired of God, because God doesn’t want us or our government to become corrupt either, (of course it really is quite corrupt as of today’s date even with the checks and balances.) God wanted our nation to be powerful but for the power to rest in the hands of his people, not just a few select individuals.

            Article IV section 1 states that, “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.  And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.” The word faith is used in this section; it indicates that they put their full trust in the state governments and congress. This government was built so that we could trust each other, and have no fear of backstabbing or mudslinging. It was made so that we could all be united and have peace and harmony among us. This was God’s plan.

            The Bill of Rights that was added to the constitution was inspired of God too. All of the amendments were written for a purpose. We have the right to bear arms, the right to the free exercise of religion, the freedom of speech and press and assembly. We have many more freedoms, freedoms that are not offered in any other country. Our constitution was inspired of God because it gave us many of the rights that we will have when the millennium begins. We will be a free people; I guess God wanted us to get a taste of freedom now.

            How is it that the Constitution was inspired? The Constitution could not have been written off the top of someone’s head. The Book of Mormon could not have been written off the top of someone’s head. They were both written and inspired by God. Even though the colonists in 1787 did not have the gospel, they believed in God and even prayed for his help in writing the Constitution. They were laying the groundwork for a nation in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints could be restored and established. They even had their temple work done by a future Prophet of God. These men were close to God; they followed his counsel and prayed for his help. What about the constitution is NOT inspired by God?