In this first installment of Civic Saturdays we'll explore the principals of the Seperations of Power. After winning independence from Great Britain our founders crafted a new system of government to guard against tyranny; one with three branches and a series of "checks and balances", that would make the levers of government diffuse and guard against any one branch (namely the executive branch) consolidating too much power. Former President James Madison, the father of the Constitution, writing in the Federalist Paper #47 that, "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
During a time when separations of powers are being sorely tested, come and discover why and how the founders divided government, the importance of checks and balances, and why this matters in 2017.
What are Civic Saturdays?
Civic Saturdays is a monthly lecture/workshop series on the basics of American Civics and government. Each month attendees will hear from a different speaker and learn about different core concept, principles, and historic origin of the American experiment in democracy. It's not about learning to run for office, quasi community meeting or even tips engaging local officials; the sole focus is to educate Philadelphians on how our government works at all levels.