American Government - Essay Example

The Views Held of James Madison Throughout history, many countries have been led by monarchy rule that most, after detailed study, would be determined to be both tyrannical and oppressive in nature. Most notably, during the 1500s English King Henry VIII, in his quest to rid himself of a wife who had failed to produce a male heir and to marry his mistress, claimed his superiority that he said was given to him by God and forced the breaking of the bond between the people of England and the Catholic Church in Rome.

One of the many examples of Henry’s arrogance and agenda of self promotion, he would be considered more of a tyrant than a just ruler. One who oppressed, rather than led. James Madison, one of the founders of the US Constitution, writes that, “If Tyranny and Oppression comes to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” To best understand Madison’s intent behind his statement, it would be important to remember that at its root, guise means ‘appearance’. That being said, what Madison intended to say was that if it came down to both tyranny and oppression coming to our shores, it would be through the appearance of a fight that involved a country outside of our soil.

A present day example of this would be the current war on terror being fought by the US Government in Iraq. From the text American Government: Brief Version written by James Wilson, two particular quotes are given by Madison himself that, each in their own way, pertain to this very topic. They are, “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,” As well as, “But what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary,” (Wilson p.15). As for how the US Constitution protects against tyrannical rule, it does provide for a ‘checks and balances’ system in which the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative bodies each can have some kind of say above the other in order to prevent if possible any kind of dominance on the part of one arm of the government. Just as is the case with anything else, government is an imperfect system and as Madison famously said, “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

” That statement in its own right feeds an idea that has long been held about government whether it’s elected as in the United States, or still takes part in monarchal rule as do many countries presently in Europe. It is a constant battle to keep the governing body from becoming too vast in power to where it oppresses though to which it is supposed to be protecting in the first place. With great power comes greed and self promotion and as a result, tyranny becomes the way to rule and those who are ruled find themselves in a situation that makes them feel compressed and without option.

It is to be understood that a government best control itself, otherwise face the consequence of falling into tyranny and oppression towards its people. In a footnote to his description of what a constitution is, Wilson writes that, “True constitutional government is limited government. Nations may have documents called ‘constitutions,’ but if they are ruled by tyrants or dictators who recognize no limits to their authority, then the ‘constitution’ is only a piece of paper, not a fundamental law,” (Wilson p.16). As the war in Iraq goes on, time will tell how much tyranny is at the US government’s core.

ReferencesWilson, James Q. American Government: Brief Version. Edition: 7th Copyright: 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA. ISBN #: 0-618-42778-3.