Federalist Paper no. 10 was one of the most important of the Federalist Papers. It was written by James Madison and contends that a large national government can successfully protect freedom better than smaller, more local governments. Madison wrote that small groups pursuing their own personal interests at the sacrifice of the national interests, otherwise called factions, always bring an end to popular government. Factions are created when individuals have varying opinions about religion, government, military, political leaders, and many other subjects. Madison’s argument was that these factions were more easily controlled by the national government, instead of local governments. The national government would be concerned about the whole nation, whereas, local governments were more involved in interests that prevailed in their local area. For instance, if farmers in a local area far outnumbered manufacturers, the local government would work toward the interests of agriculture versus the interests of manufacturing. In other words, as stated in our textbook “By the People: Debating American Government,” Madison introduced a modern, realistic view that stated one should “expect people to pursue their own self-interest.” …show more content…
Since this is nearly impossible, government is necessary. In a large republic, the national government will always have larger, more varied interests than the local governments. As there are more interests, there will also be an abundance of factions. With an abundance of factions, no single faction will have the ability to take control for their own self-interests, resulting in the factions having to compromise and counterbalance each other for a more diverse purpose. Therefore, Madison advocated for a large
Second, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests. Madison defined faction as any group, majority or minority, within a society that promoted its own self-interest at the expense of the common good. Due to this, there needs to be a check on the government. Sometimes public rights can harm the rights of an individual, and Madison wanted to prevent that from happening. Federalism is another way to control factions. A large republic means more factions will
The Federalist No.10 was written by James Madison. The main purpose of this paper was to make people see that there was a different kind of factions. This essay talks about how Republican government is taken in consideration by the constitution .Having a republic and looking at democracy is important in many ways. It all depends on how large a republic is and what the results it can have.
In “Federalist 10”, James Madison explains and protects the checks and balances system in the Constitution of the United States. He says how each branch of our government is outlined so that its power checks the powers of the two other branches. He explains this by stating that there are factions, a majority faction and a minority faction. These factions are unified by a common belief or interest, and aim to protect the rights or interests of their community. If the power of the majority went unchecked, then the power they received could then be used to oppress the unpopular, or minority, views. The majority could also use their new power to take away the rights given to the minority.
A key concern the federalist’s held since the start of the war with parting from England is that citizens of America could ultimately divided against each other if their voice is not heard with the new form of government that
In the Federalist No. 54, James Madison states that only three-fifths of the total number of slaves in a State should be counted when determining the number of representatives in the House of Representatives from that State. Madison presents several reasons for counting slaves as three-fifths of a person, he says that the laws consider slaves as property and persons. He adds on that the southern states would think its unfair to include slaves in calculating tax burdens but not in counting the number of representatives apportioned to the states. The Author’s purpose is for both southern and northern states to come into an agreement in order to pass a constitution acceptable to all states. Madison seeks to liberate himself from any responsibility
As long as there is liberty, different opinions and factions will form. Madison simply wishes to establish a system in which the detrimental effects of factions on the whole government are reduced and kept in check. He argues that a pure democracy cannot mitigate the threats of factions and that only a republic can. He believes that a system of government that allow every citizen to vote directly for laws is dangerous as common people's decisions are affected by their self-interest, instead he advocates a different form of government in which citizens elect a small body of representatives who then vote for laws. Madison’s trust in a republic is fueled and bolstered by his lack of confidence in the people’s capacity to make well-informed
The Federalist Papers Number 10 is written by James Madison and explains the necessity of the Constitution to protect our country from factions. A faction is “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent aggregate interests of the community (Publius, 72).” Publius states that there are two ways to get rid of factions. The first way to eliminate a faction is to take the Liberty away from all of the people in the faction. The other way to cure a faction is to give everyone the same opinion. Both of this solutions are not possible
One of the biggest sources that factions come from are from the distribution of land. There are two main ones, those with lots and land and those with little land. Even though these groups conflict, the government is obliged to guard the interests of each group. Madison stated two ways to control factions, which were to remove its causes and controlling its effect. Madison says next that he worries about corruption of members of the new government, but says it is less likely because representative will be chosen by a large population. He also discusses the differences between a republic and a democracy, along with that the main goal of the Constitution is to make all 13 states secure from threats and invasion.
In addition, Madison defined that a faction is an amount of people, whether a popular or smaller, who are combined and motivated by nearly mutual compulsion of desire, or of attention, opposing to the privileges of further residents, or to the durable and collective benefits of the public. Also he explained why the Framers took a representative democracy, a republic, slightly than a clean, straight, democracy as the system of government for our new population. He defined a "pure democracy" as "a culture involving of a lesser quantity of nations, who gather and direct the rule in individual."
It all started with the Declaration of Independence. Under British rule, the 13 American colonies were incredibly displeased with the governing of the king and his tyranny. Consequently, Thomas Jefferson and a group of four other men (Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston and John Adams) gathered to compose a document declaring the colonies’ independence from Britain. The Declaration states that everyone is born with a set of natural rights, or rights that a person is born with and cannot be taken away by the government, and if any government infringes upon these rights, the people have the right to “alter or abolish it”. These words became the basis of Republican Ideals, or standards the people
Federalist 10 has the strongest argument that supports our current Constitution. Madison’s view goes against the traditional view that a small republic is better than a larger one. The proposed government that Madison supports was trying to establish a strong government that would be capable of controlling violence and damage that are caused by factions. Factions being a group of people who gather together to protect and promote their social economic interests and political opinions (Madison, 72). The biggest concern was that the factions would become too powerful and start to over power the government if the United States did not have a strong government. Different factions with contrasting ideas pose a threat to the wellbeing of the people. The factions could be either a majority or minority of a whole. If the factions have closer contact with one another they are more likely to participate in acts of violence, which would effect the way the United States is governed. A small republic would draw attention to everyone’s different interests, therefore highlighting the major contrasts between different
In the presence of a powerful fraction, there is nothing to protect the minority factions from being overpowered; that a true direct democracy would be incapable of maintaining the protection of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness. A large republic government will impart power to elected representatives, making the power of factions to affect the vote is greatly decreased. Madison believes that this type of government should be put in the new constitution.
The second way in which a pure democracy differs from a republic is that a republic is much better-suited to be extended over, as Madison puts it, a “greater sphere of country”. This second difference between the two forms of government is significant in ensuring the effectiveness of a large republic over a small republic. Madison holds that there are two options in curing the effects of factions. Factions can be cured by either removing their causes or by controlling their effects. Removing the causes of factions is neither practical nor wise, as there are two ways to remove the causes of factions: destroy the liberty that fuels the formation of factions, or force the same interests and opinions on every citizen. Liberty cannot
The only way to manage faction is to remove its causes and to control its effects. By removing its causes Madison believes that liberty will be destroyed, or that by giving every citizen the same opinions, passions, and interests, would be impossible because people can never all be the same. Madison wanted the United States to be a republic, a form of democracy in which power is vested in representatives, so there will be a greater number of citizens represented and we will also be able to have more control over the factions effects.
In Federalist 10 by James Madison, he addresses key issues like factions and democracy, all while focusing on the usefulness of the Constitution and the necessity of a strong central government, to defend his Federalist ideology. Personally, I agree with the foundation of his arguments, especially on the topic of forms of government, as well as the role of representation in our government.