The fourth President of the United States, James Madison, once said that, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” That being said, it is the people’s right, and the people’s right alone to govern the country, and hereby the government shall abide by the wants and desires of the population, and not the wants and desires of the federal government. During the eighteenth century, the United States’ federal and state governments were at constant odds over where certain powers should lie, whether rights should go to the federal government or to the states was the unsolvable enigma. In a Democratic-Republic, it is the people’s …show more content…
Paine’s sentiment toward government was that, “government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil”, which shows that although Paine is not the slightest bit fond of government in and of itself, he knows that without some form of higher legislative power, mankind would destroy itself. Paine’s ideology on government was not only that the monarchy would strip people of their natural rights, but that even the new government created in America would eventually overrule the people and force them to give up their freedoms. Alongside the necessity of government, however, comes the people’s rights to “petition the government” to address “grievances” (U.S. Constitution), which would thus empower the people as they are guaranteed that their voices be heard. But with every state right, comes a federal right to balance out the powers, therefore, “the Congress shall have power to...make Rules for the Government”. By allowing Congress to regulate laws and rules, power and rights are being taken away from the states, and therefore