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Madison's Views On The Federalist Essay

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Recommended: Federalism and separation of powers

Madison addresses the concerns of the Federalist by first defining factions. “By a faction, I understand a number of 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.” (Madison). Then he suggests that the only two ways to deal with the problem are to either eliminate factions by removing their causes or limit their impact by controlling their effects. From this portion of the essay, my understanding is that since people have their own self-interests and these self-interests clash with others, the government needs to be able to pass laws for the common good of all instead of any one specific group. This idea …show more content…

Madison argues that the new government would be able to protect the nation but reassured readers that it would not be strong enough to take away people’s freedom. Their powers would be limited and regulated through federalism and the separation of powers. This is a republic based on the consent of the governed people. All in all, it is way more cost-efficient to run a union government than to support 13 separate governments. Finding administration for each state would be more expensive to staff the separate governments, not to mention funding for their own security and defense. We see this here that Madison eases the concerns of the Anti-Federalists and persuades the Federalist by stating “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking. Let us examine the points in which it varies from pure democracy, and we shall comprehend both the nature of the cure and the efficacy which it must derive from the

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There are also many other reasons a faction may exist, as long as there is a common idea among a group of people there will be a faction. He believes in order to limit factions you must do it in one of two ways; by removing the cause or controlling the effect. Madison explains the only way to remove the cause is to take away liberties or have everyone think the same way, both of which are more dangerous than the faction themselves. Because removing the cause won’t work the only

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The Federalist #10 paper was the first contribution that James Madison did to the Federalist essays. His warnings and concerns were that the when a number of people rules whether it is by majority or minority, it can become dangerous to the republic. These people will ruled by their own interest not to all the citizens of the country. He described it as "faction". A faction is an organized group within a bigger one.

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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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Throughout Federalist 10 Madison addresses the issue of political factions, or parties, and how they are a problem, and how to deal with them. Madison describes factions as like minded people who come together to impose their views on others. The first method Madison proposes is to remove the causes that make the faction, and the second being by controlling its effects. In order to do those things Madison says that we must destroy liberty, and give everyone the same opinions, passions and the interests respectfully. Neither of these ideas would work however because if you destroy liberty just because it gives rise to factions, you would be destroying something that is good just because it has a small side effect that can be seen as

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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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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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James Madison states that there are two methods of removing the causes of factions that exist. The first method is by “destroying the liberty” of individuals (Federalist #10). The second method to removing the causes of factions that Madison describes is by bestowing in every citizen identical “opinions, passions and interests” (Federalist #10), or essentially making every individual equal. James Madison explains that if these two methods of removing factions are used, then the basis of the American system, which emphasizes freedom and liberty, is breached.

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Hamilton discussed whether the government would be federal or national. “A federal government is a system that divides up power between a strong national government and smaller local governments”. “A National government controls a nation and has to have at least a national army, enough power over its states or provinces to set and maintain foreign policy, and the ability to collect taxes”. Madison knows he can not take away power from the state but he also needs a controlling body for all the states.

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James Madison’s Federalist #10 outlines one of the key strengths of the U.S. Constitution; specifically, how our government guards against and uses factions. In particular, Madison focuses on the struggle between the majority and minority factions. He goes in depth to explain how the setup of the government prevents the development of an overbearing and abusive majority faction that might seek to deprive the minority faction of its rights. Madison begins by explaining that every argument or issue produces two sides, one of which will be numerically superior. Under direct democratic rule, this group would be able to impose their will upon the minority without any limitations; this could lead to impulsive decisions that ultimately are not in the public’s best interest.

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Federalist No. 10 was the first of Madison’s contribution to the Federalist Papers and many argue that it is one of the most famous, and Federalist No. 1 was by Hamilton and became the first of many essays to be written. Madison emphasis in No. 10 that factions arise from divisions in the community because of diversity and movement of people, and that they can cause damage and violence. He is arguing in favor of the Constitution because it establishes a government that is able to control the damage caused by factions. And in Federalist No. 1, Hamilton talks about how the people are in a very rare position to decide if “societies of men” are able to establish good government. He believed that the nation could become one and have a strong foundation

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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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Legislative and judicial decisions are the results of faction, as the decisions made affect “the rights of large bodies of citizens”. Justice would balance the views of each side, “and the most numerous party… or… the most powerful faction must be expected to prevail”. Madison stated that a single, uniform party in power will adopt legislation that benefited the class that party represented, but allowing more parties and therefore more people to participate makes the legislative process more democratic and less like a monarchical form of government. The thesis is extended: “The inference to which we are brought is, that the CAUSES of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its EFFECTS”. It is the goal of government to then limit the extent to which factions influence politics through partisanship, so as “to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government”.

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Madison expressed that it is impossible to destroy liberty because one cannot make everyone have the same ideologies, so it’s impossible to extinguish factions. Madison expressed that he preferred a small republic over a large republic. With a large republic a representative would have been picked by a big number of citizen in a large republic than in a small republic. In a small republic it would make it more challenging for ineligible candidates to gain a position in

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In the case of taxation, the more powerful of the two parties would have the opportunity to impose higher taxes on the minority, thus, saving themselves money. Madison firmly believed that the constitution had the ability to solve the problems created by factions. Madison envisioned a large republic that would make it difficult for corrupt candidates to get elected. Madison expressed this by stating, In the next place, as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to centre in men who possess the most attractive merit and the most diffusive and established characters.

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According to federalist 10 suggested by Madison, he identifies the chief danger to a collapse of the Republican government as factionalism where the most numerically strong factions will be able to advance their self-interests at the expense of the minorities and the common good. He fears that the majority factions with different interests would constantly fight with each other that will lead to the eventual collapse of the collective self-government. He recognized that the effects of factions can be controlled through the structure of government which is federalism. The proposed Constitution will minimize the Effects of Factions where the effects are better controlled in larger size of the republic under a representative form of government.

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