James Madison once said, "All men who have power should be distrusted." With these words, Madison stated that not all government officials use their authority for good; some abuse that power and use it to get more for themselves rather than giving it to people. This problem can lead to tyranny. Tyranny is when all power belongs to one person or group. In May 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia to draft a better constitution. One of the topics that concerned many was how the Constitution would protect against tyranny. Madison and the other delegates wanted a Constitution that was strong enough to bind states and people together without letting one person or group gain too much power. They achieved this in several ways. Today, the United States Constitution protects against tyranny by including the separation of powers, federalism, and equal representation of the states. Separation of powers prevents any one branch from gaining too much power by creating 3 separate and distinct branches, power can be shared equally between . According to Madison, “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” (Document B) In other words, to avoid tyranny and achieve freedom, the three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial) must be separated and diversified. The purpose of separation of powers is to divide the powers of government so that there is no single central source of power. The three branches must be as distinct as possible to avoid falling into the hands of a single leader. There are also checks and balances between these three branches. Checks and balances are a system in which each branch monitors and… center of paper… with respect to the protection of a government. State governments protect their states while the federal government protects the entire country. Additionally, the Great Compromise protected against tyranny by ensuring that larger states did not have more power than smaller states. The Great Compromise was an agreement to create a bicameral legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate. A state's number of representatives in the House would be based on population, while representation for each state in the Senate is equal. (Document D) Therefore, larger states, such as New York, would not overwhelm smaller states, such as Rhode Island. In conclusion, the Constitution protects against tyranny in many different ways. The framers of the Constitution established a very effective government system that still protects America today.