Thomas Paine http://www.thomaspaine.org/Thomas%20Paine.htm wrote that in our beginning we had the chance to "start the world over."
The beginning of America's theoretical framework was not determined by a public opinion poll. Rather, our ramparts are rooted in a philosophical discourse which history has conducted over many thousands of years.
Our foremost enemy is an oppressive abuse of power. Our most frequented foe is tyranny.
The great thinkers agreed that in order to preserve liberty, the duties of government had to be divided. The power of the purse (legislative branch) and the power of the sword (executive branch) could not be in the same hands.
In this separation of powers, we find our most cherished principle. Unless we buy in, the architects of our civilization were builders of temporary housing.
A primary catalyst for creating a government based upon the separation of powers was best stated by James Madison in Federalist 47:"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 justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
What are the ADVANTAGES of a government organized around the concept of the separation of powers?
What are the DISADVANTAGES of a government organized around the concept of the separation of powers?
Posted at CBS2chicago.com/school....the new home for the "2 Regular Guys" the new multi-media home for CitizenU.org. One of the 2 Regular guys, Andy Conneen is a good friend, great AP teacher at Stevenson H.S. and a former colleague of mine here at WVHS. Linked here is the video of the "2 Regular Guys" explaining Separation of Powers.
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