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Federalist Pros And Cons

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On Thursday, November 22, 1787 the Daily Advertiser published what is known as “The Federalist No. 10.” This particular Federalist paper was entitled “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued)” (Madison, 1787). The man who penned this essay was James Madison, who would later go on to be the 4th President of the United States of America. In this essay James Madison describes how the the creation of a “well constructed Union” provides safeguard from faction in public office (Madison, 1787). To Madison distrust of public engagement and concern for private rights “must be chiefly, if not wholly, effects of the unsteadiness and injustice” created by faction within public administrations (Madison, …show more content…

Similarly, Madison proposes two methods for removing the root of the problem: “the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests (Madison, 1787).” To the first point Madison refers to the imposition of authority, striking away rights of the common people, to force conformity to the laws and beliefs of the land, something that is contrary to the will and goals of the Union. As Madison states to the first option “... it was worse than the disease (Madison, 1787). It is to the second point that I believe Madison leads his …show more content…

A republic can be viewed as a representative democracy. By definition a republic the power of the power of the state is held by the elected representatives of the populus. By creating a republic Madison believe that “The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States (Madison, 1787).” It would follow that if the faction was to spread to be recognized and held by the majority of the states, then it could be considered the will of the people. In Madison’s conclusion of The Federalist #10 he affirms his belief in the formation of a republic for the Union. “In the extent and proper structure of the Union, therefore, we behold a republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government (Madison,

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On the other hand, Cornell explains that this “will of the people” was often contorted on both sides as political debate. Thus, the “dissenting tradition” was not more than who was more qualified to run the government through countless debates and public appeal. As explained by Cornell,”Each side expended enormous energy crafting appeals to persuade citizens that it was better qualified to represent the will of the people” (Cornell 21). Thus, the Anti-Federalists were using the people to debate themselves in the public sphere to gain the will of the common man and avoid the evil corrupt centralized authority.

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Perhaps the most famous Federalist paper, Federalist 10, starts off by saying that one of the biggest arguments that favors the Constitution is that it creates a government suited to minimize the harm caused by factions. Faction, in this case, is defined as a group of people whether a minority or majority based on class, race, and profession that all share a common interest. It was inevitable that factions would occur and perhaps the defining characteristic was the unequal distribution of property. This would ultimately lead the poor without property to become the majority in a “tyranny of the masses.” Madison believed that there were two solutions in preventing majority factions, 1) Remover the causes, and 2) Control the effects.

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James Madison addressed other delegates by saying: “But I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks--no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.

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The former is impossible, as any society is bound to have a majority of citizens who share common beliefs or ideas, and a minority of others who feel differently. This leaves only one option; to limit the authority of the majority and prevent them from dominating the minority. In order to prevent corruption or oppression, power must be distributed in a way that inhibits any one person or group from gaining too much of it. 4.) How does this essay by Madison tie into the separation of powers and checks and balances in the constitution?

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Primary source readings 7.4 and 7.5 are two opposite ends of the spectrum , however they are both being written with the same concept in mind; the constitution. In both readings the men express a genuine concern for the people also. Yet, they say completely different things regarding the effect that the constitution will have on the country. In 7.4 James Madison reassures the people of New York that the constitution will keep the branches of government separated and prevent the central government from becoming too powerful. This is the exact fear that the American people have regarding the constitution.

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James Madison’s main ideas in Federalist 10 were about factions and how to remove the causes but also control the effects. He described a faction as “By a faction, I understand a number if citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community (“The Federalist #10).” Madison was correct in his statements about removing the causes and controlling the effects of factions. During the time Federalist 10 was written the Federalists were using the papers to help convince the states 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 Federalist No. 10” is a persuasive argument written by James Madison in an attempt to ratify the Constitution. He wrote a series of documents called the Federalist Papers under a pseudonym to convince others to approve of the Constitution. He says that factions are not good for America, neither is a pure democracy. Madison provides extensive arguments and remedies for the problems he is addressing. James Madison is attempting to ratify the Constitution by analyzing the way to deal with factions, comparing a republic to a democracy, and by comparing a small government to a large government.

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He wanted to create a government that didn’t have the power to destroy the freedoms that they were protecting. He argues that a government shouldn’t try to control negative effects of factions when addressing problems. He came up with two points about democracy and republic and the differences between them. Madison came to the conclusion that a republic would be better for controlling the factions and a pure democracy wouldn’t.

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James Madison is also trying to say that at this point all we need is a strong lasting union. This quote supports my big idea because the citizens don’t want secrets or lies if they are a union they need to know what is happening. The union is a whole,

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Madison’s views on ambition were integrated into the political structure of the country by limiting democratic citizen participation in government and

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In this edition of the Federalist papers, Alexander Hamilton stresses over and over again the importance of unity between the states. Without unity, it seems as though our country will cease to exist as we know it. While Hamilton does not come right out and state, we need unity, he does make his point very clear. In using the Constitution as the perfect example of what the United States needed at the time, Hamilton manages to bring everything back to one central theme. We cannot have unity between the states if we do not introduce the Constitution.

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The United States of America was once governed by proclaimed inflexible tyrant King George III, who had lost his privilege explicitly to not continue to govern the pre existing colonies by probable causes. These probable causes are listed in many public documents and essays and some are undoubtedly the greatest contribution to American government and literature. However, authors of such influential literature are people of widely different backgrounds, beliefs, and interests that worked together to form one political union. So the big question is, How did each author, character, or founder find a balance between preserving individual rights and the formation of a strong and long-lasting union? In brief, a balance between the preservation of

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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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Advantages and disadvantages of federalism There are three kinds of government systems in the world. First is the unitary system. Major country of the world is the unitary system. In this kind of system, government can control all authority in the hand of central government. All state governments need to listen to the central government.

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