Question

Why did the founders of the constitution want a division of power in the federal and state governments?

Answer 1

The generation of the founding fathers was greatly affected by the historical context in which they lived. Absolute rulers, meaning monarchs who essentially abused their powers to the highest degree, were common during the Low and High Middle Ages, which ended only about a century before the Revolutionary War. The founders and other important statesmen found it to be imperative for this new country to have a set division of power and for branches of government to rule the country as opposed to a singular person deciding all national and state affairs. That would be a partial explanation for a division of power, however. The founders also avoided giving any one branch more power or importance than another. A system of checks and balances would ensure that no branch could undermine the other or seize whole control of the government. This concept would apply both for state and federal governments. The existence of these two governments originates to the inception of this country and the colonies’ representatives vouching for each colony to have its own state government with rights and privileges that the federal government would not have. Colonies had distinct identities and colonists prided themselves in being true Virginians, or New Yorkers, etc. State governments were bound to evolve from the colonial governments that were in place before the revolution. In an ideal world, the state and federal government would collaborate to ensure that the Declaration’s vision for Americans is realized. However, as history has shown, tensions between federal and state government have been documented throughout this nation’s history.