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Zoe Greenspan

Ms. Nicoll

History 8th grade

7 November 2017

Constitutionalism and Individual Rights

Imagine living in a country where the government has all the power. That's what life was

like, which is why America's Founding Fathers created documents to protect individual

freedoms. There are many ideas that influence the way people in America have their individual

rights. The idea of federalism and dual sovereignty help address the issue of government having

too much power. Also, the idea of separation of powers and checks and balances is making sure

one group does not have too much power. Lastly, there is majority rule & individual rights,

which together allows people to influence the new rights for the people.

The founding fathers created documents to help make sure people have their own

individual rights. The ideas of federalism and dual sovereignty help with people getting their

rights. The website “brainy quotes” states that Alexander Hamilton said, “Give all the power to

the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.”

This is when the idea of federalism came into government, because federalism is when the state

and national government each have their part in the government. Once federalism has affected

the government, dual sovereignty has been added to the situation. Dual Sovereignty is useful

when federalism is involved because dual sovereignty is made to make sure that the states do not

go against what the national government laws. Meaning the state government has to create laws

that haven’t been dealt with in federal government (Segal). As quoted from ​“CATO Institute”​,
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“Federalism goes beyond states’ rights and powers. Its essence is dual sovereignty — the

Framers’ ingenious system of shared authority between federal and state governments with each

sovereign checking the other. The purpose of that check is to shield individuals from

concentrations of power.” Not only do federalism and dual sovereignty impact the American

government, but so do the ideas of separation of powers and checks & balances.

In order for the people to have their rights, separation of powers and checks & balances

come into a huge role. Barack Obama said, “I am not a king, I can’t do everything by myself.”

(Brainy Quotes). This shows just how important separation of power is. The reason separation of

powers is in our government is to make sure that one group of people do not hold all the power.

The idea separation of powers presents is that every branch of government has their job. That’s

when checks & balances comes into play. The role that checks & balances play in the

government is for the other branches to ‘check’ what the other is doing. For example, the

president has to get the final approval on any laws that the legislative branch makes. Together

they create a system that makes sure everything the government does is for the good of the

country and is helping the people receive their individual rights. Ontop of separation of powers

and checks & balances giving people their own rights, the idea of majority rule helps make sure

the people have individual rights (SEPARATION OF POWERS -- AN OVERVIEW).

By having the factor of majority rule in the country, it helps reserve the people’s

individual rights. The website “brainy quotes” says that Larry Flynt stated, “Majority rule only

works if you're also considering individual rights. Because you can't have five wolves and one

sheep voting on what to have for supper.” Majority rule plays a huge role when it comes to the

people getting their individual rights. Majority rule is guaranteed in a democracy, majority rule is
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when at least 51% of the public agree on a certain idea or law. This goes straight into people’s

individual rights, because in the constitution it limits how much power the government has.

Individual Rights are shown throughout many documents in American historical documents. For

example, the Bill of Rights were written for the people, so they can have their rights. In

conclusion all of the ideas mentioned above are ways that the American idea of constitutionalism

help keep people’s rights(George).

The main idea of the American government and how it preserves individual rights as well

as majority rule is detailed in the U.S. Constitution. There it also mentions checks and balances

in order to maintain a safe working judicial system. To accomplish this, there are three branches

of government . Not only are they separated in the federal government, but also at the state level

as well. This creates dual sovereignty and the principles of Federalism. As you can see, many

ideas make up American government ideals.

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Works cited

“Individual Rights Quotes.” ​BrainyQuote​, Xplore, 2017,

www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/individual_rights.html​.

Levy, Robert A. “Rights, Powers, Dual Sovereignty, and Federalism.” ​CATO Institute ​, Oct.

2011,​www.cato.org/policy-report/septemberoctober-2011/rights-powers-dual-sovereignty

-federalis​m.

Segal, Peter. “Federalism.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 2013,

www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/federalism/#.WfFaCdOGPHc​.

SEPARATION OF POWERS -- AN OVERVIEW.” ​National Conference of State Legislatures​,

www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/separation-of-powers-an-overview.aspx.

Will, George. “George Will: Majority Rule vs. Individual Rights.” ​Indystar​, 16 Apr. 2014,

www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2014/04/16/george-will-majority-rule-vs-individual-rig

hts/777​7683/.