Question

art ii
the framers chose these guiding principles to avoid issues that they had seen in other governments.
identify three issues they might have been trying to avoid. explain your reasoning.

1. choose a recent event or government decision you think relates to one of the guiding principles. what happened? what principle does it relate to, and how?

Explanation:

For Question 1:

1. Tyranny of a Monarchical/Unlimited Government: The Framer's experience with British rule, where King George III had unchecked power to tax colonists, dissolve legislatures, and suppress dissent, led them to avoid concentrated, unaccountable authority.
2. Lack of Representative Governance: They observed systems where rulers or small elites made decisions without input from the broader population, so they sought to create a government where citizens could elect officials to act on their behalf.
3. Weak Central Government Failures: The flaws of the Articles of Confederation (the U.S.'s first governing document) showed them the risk of a central government with too little power—like inability to raise funds, regulate interstate trade, or quell internal uprisings such as Shays' Rebellion.

For Question 2:

A recent example is the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. The Court ruled that the executive branch overstepped its authority under the HEROES Act. This relates to the principle of separation of powers: the decision enforced the idea that each branch (executive, legislative, judicial) has distinct roles, and the executive cannot unilaterally implement a major policy that should be addressed by Congress (the legislative branch's lawmaking power).

Answer:

1. Three issues the Framers aimed to avoid:

• Tyranny of unchecked monarchical power
• Non-representative, elite-controlled governance
• Inadequate central government authority

1. Recent event example:

• Event: 2023 Supreme Court ruling blocking Biden's student loan forgiveness plan
• Related principle: Separation of powers
• Connection: The Court limited executive overreach, upholding that major policy changes require legislative (Congressional) action, not unilateral executive order.