Madison 's State Of Mind

The Articles created a weak form of government by giving too much authority to the states and not giving enough power to the national government which made it too weak to enforce laws. James Madison understood that tyranny would be uncontrollable as he mentioned “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judicia[l] 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” (James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788). However, Separation of powers and checks and balances have succeeded in unifying the powers of the nation, by creating a balance between the national and state government it divides the tasks in order to prevent the majority from oppressing the minority. The fear of having one centralized branch of government over the local government gave the American civilization an inside of the negative outcomes of giving too much authority to just one form of government; that there needs to be a division between the branches, yet they need to have each others support in order to establish laws to prevent

Although James Madison despised factions as explained in Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison believed factions were an essential part of government, that needed to be revised through careful governmental intervention. Madison was careful to ensure his vision for the country 's future would protect the given right to liberty; therefore he found in the Constitution multiple outlets for these factions to dissolve. However, the government itself was corrupt so the three branches had to be separated to prevent tyranny and be successful in stopping the dangerous factions. Therefore, in Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51, Madison would outline his goals for creating a more cohesive country.

During the writing of the Constitution, the determination to not let one specific being control the new government was a must for success(Madison Excerpt 1). As stated by James Madison, tyranny was everyone’s main concern when establishing the layout of the United States government, but not all writers agreed on the thoughts of others. Once compromise was made, the Constitution developed many statements that guard the United States from tyranny by enforcing federalism, dividing powers, checking and keeping balance, and giving small states a voice when associated with larger states.

According to the passage, “James Madison Defends the Constitution (1788)”, “The Constitutional debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were often heated. Here, James Madison responds to Patrick Henry’s concerns about the power of the federal government to directly tax the people.” James Madison wanted to directly tax the people of the country, but Patrick Henry was not going down without fight to hopefully end it. They also did not agree on the procedure to change the things in the Constitution. Madison thought that each state should just get one vote, but

(James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, Document A). Madison is referring to a federalism, where powers are divided between the Central and state governments. In the finalized constitution that resulted, the Central government is able to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, declare wars, print and coin money, and set up post offices. The states governments were permitted to set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools, and pass marriage and divorce laws, and regulate in-state businesses. Both are able to borrow money, set up courts, and make and enforce laws. The delicate balance of distribution of powers prevents either the state or central governments from taking too much control. While the national government deals with foreign and national domestic relations, the state governments deal with almost all local matters, and they both have a few shared powers, resulting in a comfortable balance. (Document A)

Madison concludes that self-government flourishes in a large country containing many different groups. Some countries are too large for self-government, but the proposed plan modifies the federal principle enough to make self-government both possible and practical in the Untied States.

With the power in one place instead of the states, it would easily be abused. In the text Madison said this would not be the case because of the constitution. It would establish a government that was powerful enough to keep control. However, it would not have enough to take over unobstructed. Madison argued that the government's power did not exist because it declared it did. There was no reason to concerned about a central government that had more powerful than each individual state. This was because the powers it had come from what the individual states gave it and therefore came from the people. The ones deciding on taxation would not be men from only a few bloodlines. The men would be from the same places the ones in charge of the individual states were according to Madison. People like Patrick Henry would not have to worry. The government would be fair because the same kind of men would be making the decisions as

According to James Madison in the Federalist Paper number fifty-one, Madison stated that there will be powers given to the states and to the central government and powers given that both will share (Doc. A). The central government can regulate trade, conduct foreign relations and declare war, while the states can set up local governments, hold elections and establish schools. All together, they can both tax, borrow money and make laws. This way, the state and the central government will be able to be controlled by itself but also control each other at the same time. Federalism created a compromise between the federalists and the anti-federalists, who opposed the Constitution. It did so by adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution that listed specific prohibitions on governmental power. As a result, individuals and states are protected against what might be too much government power even up until

It has been known that James Madison had worried about a tyranny forming in the United States while creating a new constitution. The Constitution produced from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of 1787, was constructed to improve and fix the weaknesses of the previous rulebook, the Articles of Confederation. Fifty-five delegates, a few from each state excluding Rhode Island, supported this concern and devotion to creating a more stable government. As stated in the background essay, James Madison and the delegates at the convention were challenged to write a Constitution that was “strong enough to hold the states and the people together without letting one person, or group, or branch, or level of government gain too

James Madison’s words in the Federalist Papers were “The different governments will each control each other, at the same time will be controlled by itself.” (Doc. A). By separating the central and state government, it created a security to the rights of each group, both forms of government had a separate job, but they also both watched over one another. This way guards from tyranny because it keeps the power completely separated between central and state government but also keeping the power balanced at the same time. Some powers given to the central government include: conducting foreign relations, providing an army and navy, and printing money, Meanwhile, some powers given to the states include: the setup of local governments, ability to hold elections, and regulating in-state business (Doc. A). Federalism was the framers’ first way to prevent tyranny in the constitution, while keeping the two groups of central and state government from obtaining to much

This in turn was allowing the Federalistic government to garner the majority of the American population and was leading to them being a strong, influential power over the people. Madison did not support these actions and expressed his dislike, demonstrating that he is an anti-federalist (Doc.

Some problems were involved throughout the steps that the Founding Fathers took to create a new country. The Articles of Confederation was created because the thirteen states were separate from each other and needed a central form of a government to help resolve their differences. Many states rejected the Articles because they didn’t want to risk having an overpowering government similar to the monarchy of England. An example of this fear about creating a new oppressive government was that the smaller states would be in favor of the Articles on all states due to their fewer resources and less decision making power than the larger states. The Articles gave smaller states more power in situations such as how to raise money for war and to settle debts for war. The central government that the Articles of Confederation created turned out to be very weak, and

In James Madison’s federalist paper he begins by telling the reader what his intentions are for writing the essay. He wants the citizens to understand the structure of this suggested government, and how it makes liberty attainable. Madison believes that each individual branch should be independent and in order for this to be possible no one branch should overpower another. He explains that the only way for that to happen is if the citizens vote for the president, the legislators, and judges. Madison also mentions how he understands citizens may not be knowledgeable enough of the qualification of judges, thus leading to a weak judicial branch. Judges should be free of political pressures in order to balance out with the president and the senate and vice versa. He suggests a control in the individual powers through the constitution to avoid inequality. This would assure an avoidance in the abuse of power by men from either branch.

Even with a representative government, its separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances, Madison also favored the implementation of a written Constitution, detailing the limits of the federal government’s power. The written Constitution of the United States created a paradigm shift in the way the world viewed Constitutions. It created a tangible means whereby citizens could hold the government accountable. While the Constitution of the United States accomplished many goals in regards to establishing the role of the federal government, it left much open to

But in order to see this congruence we must go back in time and understand the context in which Madison pushed for these laws. During the American Revolution, the Americans needed a constitution(law) to unify all of the colonies in their fight against oppressive British tyranny. What followed was the creation of the Articles of Confederation in 1781, which gave primary right to the states instead of the national government. After the colonies won the American Revolution the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation became apparent. The main weaknesses included Congress’s inability to tax (to pay war debt), the nation’s lack of a standing army (Shays Rebellion in 1786-1787 showed this), the lack of power power to regulate trade and commerce, the lack of a president to enforce laws, the lack of a legislative to create laws, and the lack of judges to interpret laws. As a result, the lack of a national government crippled unity and hindered the country's ability to thrive and advance as one. Madison's response to the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation was to create a strong constitutional(law) that would bind all of the colonies together, and help them to achieve prosperity and happiness. Madison recognized that the young nation needed new strong laws in order to stop the dissolution of the