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Advantages Of Federalist 51

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Federalist 51 is a primary source from the time of the creation of the constitution. It was written by James Madison on February 8, 1788. It is an essay describing the Constitution 's usage of checks and balances system and why it was needed. At the time, the constitution was newly written. So, under the pseudonym of Publius; James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and James Jay: three federalists (people who supported the constitution and favored a strong central government with power shared between states), wrote the Federalist Papers. This series of 85 essays and articles were written to try to gain support in favor of the Constitution by giving explanations of what the Constitution was and its purpose. Federalist 51, one of the previous stated …show more content…

Unfortunately, every source has their limits. Federalist 51 and the other federalist papers only show the federalists’ side of the argument, so a historian can’t learn what anti-federalist thought of the Constitution and their opinions on the new ideas for government though the Federalist Papers. Also, historians are unable to see the general public 's opinions and reaction to the constitution and federalist papers; nor the effects of the papers and if the achieved their intended goal. Another limitation is that, while Federalist 51 can give insight into the creators’ thoughts and intentions, the language used in Federalist 51 is much more formal and complex than of the current era, and consequently, there can be errors when analyzing and interpreting due to language usage and …show more content…

In Federalist 51, he focuses on how the Constitution divides the power of the government into three branches and so no one branch would have too much power. This was done by using the checks and balances system. Madison believes that each branch should be, for the most part, independent, but, to avoid any branches from abusing its power, no branch should have too much power in choosing the members of another. He says that to follow this rule strictly, the people of the United States would choose all members of all branches, but difficulties would arise as the people may not be aware of the best qualifications for each position. So, the branches check one another and the people elect the members other than in the judicial branch, whose members are chosen by the executive branch. Madison brings up that it isn’t possible to divide power absolutely equally and “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.” (2). And so, the legislative branch will be divided even more to try and combat the unbalance of power. Madison thought this system was a good method because he believed that it was part of human nature to have conflicting ideas and wants, and so each branch could keep the others in line and therefor no one power is above the others. Furthermore, Madison believes a bigger government with multiple branches is better because then it becomes difficult for one

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In 1787 and 1788, the Federalist Papers were written and published in various newspapers in the state of New York intended to encourage Yorkers to vote in ratifying the proposed Constitution. The famous papers consist of eighty-five essays authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. In Federalist Paper No. 17, Alexander Hamilton explicitly addresses the fear that the proposed Constitution would lead to oppression at the hands of an “autocratic” national government. Hamilton argues that even if the national government were to try and seize the power of the states, it would not be simple to do. The main reason Hamilton gives that the States rights would be reserved is because these government have a greater influence over

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In the Federalist Paper number 51, Madison writes to the people of New York to explain that it is necessary for a separation of powers between the departments of the government. Madison, with the help of Hamilton, wrote the Federalist Papers to explain sections of the Constitution. In Federalist Paper number 51, Madison explains that the government does not have a strong structure on the outside, but creating a firm structure within the government could be a solution. The firmer structure would be the separation of powers. In order for the people to get a better idea and make a more accurate judgement about the separation of powers, Madison shares observations and puts them into simpler terms.

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Madison’s essay reflects the fear many had of a tyrannical government and the desire to ensure that the country didn’t revert back to that which it had just escaped from. He notes the necessity to prevent any one faction or group from gaining too much power and oppressing those in the minority. The separation of powers was set in place to ensure that this could not happen. Even if one group decides they want something, the other two have the equal authority to prevent it should it not represent the country as a whole.

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Since they were all for the new constitution, they wanted to go ahead and make it. But the Anti-federalists didn’t want this. They were hesitant on this new government. So, that is why the Federalist papers were created. These were a series of 85 essays that tried to convince Anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution.

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James Madison’s Federalist 10 was written amid criticisms that a republican form of government had never been successful on a large scale. Madison’s argument was that a well-constructed union could control factions. He argued that in order to control factions from their causes, we would need to either give up liberty or free thought. Since we cannot infringe upon these two natural rights, we must move on to controlling the effects. A republic, Madison argues, would be able to do this because the people choose the representatives, and they choose representatives who they feel best represent their opinions.

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“The constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check in the other.” (Federalist Paper #51) (Doc C) The branches had some control of each other, so they can’t overpower each other. This helped balance the power so one branch doesn’t become an overpowered beast compared to the other branches.

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The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of

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I don't know that I really agree with either one of these positions! You see, in Federalist #10, Madison argues against the establishment of factions, which some people have taken to mean that he was opposed to political parties - not separate branches of government. Madison states that factions can be destroyed by limiting individual liberty (which is undesirable) or by creating a homogeneous society (which is impractical. Because the causes of factionalism cannot be curbed, its effects must be limited by making a republic large enough, with enough checks and balances, such that a majority faction cannot gain power at the expense of minority factions, fooling voters and exploiting their passions. In federalist 51, the idea of having three

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10 in an attempt to ratify the Constitution, the new form of government for the United States. In the Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison analyzed the way to deal with facts, made a comparison between a pure democracy and a republic, and made another comparison on whether a small government or a large government would be the best for America. He informed the people that there is not a way to completely get rid of factions, but there are ways to deal with them. One great way to deal with factions is by having a government that knows how to control and deal with their effects. Madison believes that a republic can do that job better than a democracy, because a democracy is a small society of people who can not admit there is a cure to factions.

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With this quote, Madison describes the Founders’ intent to design a government which could self-balance and obstruct the majority’s monetary impulses. Specifically, the Founders believed that factions, groups of people united by common interests and passions, would quickly assemble and attempt to impose their will on the nation out of self-interest. Consequently, the Founders fashioned the Constitution with in-built roadblocks, separation of powers along with checks and balances, to pit factions against one another to slow down the government’s legislative abilities. For instance, the Founders created two houses within Congress to cause factions from multiple constituencies to check one another. As stipulated by the Constitution, small districts

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Under this type of government one groups interests are always expressed, and consequently, there is always a perpetual loser. This is not what Madison had in mind when he wrote Federalist 10, instead he argues that as long as there are multiple factions competing, the control, and therefore interests of the government should be moderate, as well as changing. He goes into more depth, arguing that a representative form of government is ideal, due to the representative’s ability to effectively represent smaller populations, such as states. He continues to explain that factitious leaders might be able to “kindle a flame”, but would be unable to progress their movement throughout the states due to a series of checks and balances. He describes to the reader that each branch of the government would have some control over the other, balancing out the governmental power, thus keeping the effects of factions to a minimum.

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As previously talked about in The Federalist 10, the majority group most often threatens the rights of the minorities. Madison believes that there are only two ways to avoid the wrongs brought about by citizens. The first solution is to create a powerful government. This solution would be chancy because a government of this type may place power behind a certain group that is working against the common good. Ultimately if this occurred, the purpose for creating a powerful government would be overlooked.

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Factions and Federalist Essay No. 10 The federalist papers were a series of 85 essays written to convince the citizens of New York to ratify the constitution. Federalist essay No.10, written by James Madison, discusses political factions and their effects. Madison’s definition of a faction is clearly stated in the essay.

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The Constitution is still relevant today because it separates the power each branch of government has in the United States. The separation of powers serves several purposes. The separation prevents concentration of power, seen as the form of tyranny, and provides each branch with weapons to fight off encroachment by the other two branches. As argued by James Madison in the Federalist Papers (No. 51), "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."

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James Madison wrote Federalist 51 over 200 years ago, yet its words still impact today’s government in 2016. When writing Federalist 51, Madison had two main objectives in mind; he wanted a government with a separation of powers, and he also wanted minorities to be protected. Both of his objectives have been accomplished and continue to be present in today’s American government with the latter objective being more present in today’s government even more so than in the past. To begin with, power is separated in today’s government, preventing a single person or group from having absolute power since, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” according to John Dalberg-Acton. The American government is composed of three branches which power is separated amongst.

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