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The Federalist Papers: Ratification Of The Constitution

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The Federalist Papers By definition, The Federalist Papers can be referred to as a collection eighty-five essays that appeared in the New York press in 1787-1788 in support of the Constitution; written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published under the pseudonym “Publius”. (Give Me Liberty!) Despite the accuracy in this definition, it does not give these papers the acknowledgement they deserve. The Federalist Papers are considered one of the most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution. (loc.gov) Each of these eighty-five essays contain ideas and themes that are expressed in the ratification of the Constitution as well as the modern American government. One of the …show more content…

For example, though the two main political parties are the Democratic and Republican party, there are many other parties, such as the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the Constitution Party, and the Libertarian Party. During this time period, both supporters and opponents of the Constitution were concerned with the political instability produced by rival factions. The state governments had not succeeded in solving this problem; in fact, the situation …show more content…

One dominant objection to the Constitution during this time period is that violates this important principle. Opponents of the Constitution claimed that power was unevenly distributed, and that the three branches of government were not adequately separate and independent. Madison agrees with those who focus on the importance of the Separation of Powers, especially the idea that an unequal distribution of power could eliminate people's’ liberty. He even states, “[A]ccumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands … may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” (The Federalist) Madison recognized that if one branch had too much power, the outcome could be a government analogous to tyranny. However, he is still convinced that change to this Separation of Powers should not be supported. (gradesaver.com) He argues that if the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch were too separated, they would not work together as a whole. As stated by James Madison, through the Separation of Powers ans well as the system of Checks and Balances to manage power, the three branches of government should be "so far connected and blended, as to give to each a constitutional control over the others." (The Federalist) Though they each have power over the others, through the Constitution,

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In Federalist 51 Madison talks about the need for elected government officials to be controlled by a system of checks and balances. He talks about how each part of the government must be made sure as to not get too powerful as they might overpower the others. To do this Madison states that power must be distributed equally between each part, and divided as much as possible. For example Madison says “In the republican form of government, the legislative branch tends to be the most powerful.”

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Following the ratification of the United States’ Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison compiled a list of letters to provide more information to the American public. These letters, also known as the Federalist Papers, detail the specifics regarding branches of government, status of citizenship, and the democratic role of the people.  Federalist Paper No. 67, titled the Executive Department and written by Alexander Hamilton, focuses on the powers of the executive branch and calms the fears of the doubtful citizens. In addition, it provides information on the executive branch’s responsibilities and ways to increase the overall effectiveness of running an admirable government for the newly-independent United States of America.

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Separation of Powers is an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies. Quote: “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” In order for separation of powers to work the Congress has to vest the legislative, executive, and judicial powers into separate bodies with the government. The Constitution guarded against tyranny by establishing branches and checks.

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The Federalist papers were the outcome of the fall of the articles of confederation. John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were the main contributors to the 85 letters written to newspapers between 1787 and 1788. The purpose of all the letters, known as the Federalist papers was to persuade all of the colonies to ratify the new constitution. The federalist papers talk about many things, but mainly how the new constitution would create a strong central government and would preserve the union. Also, the anti federalists tried to publish anonymous articles that basically went against everything the federalists had to say.

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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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Being fairly easy to read and comprehend, the Federalist Papers laid out a simple description of the framework of the new government. Federalist Papers 10 and 14 are very significant when it comes to the portrayal of federalist focus and desires. Paper 51 elaborates on how the new government will keep the common man’s ideals and rights when it comes to representation and officials. When it’s all said and done, the Federalist Papers thoroughly explain the new government to the average Joe.

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“Richard Henry Lee’s Objection to the Constitution” and James Madison’s “The Federalist No. 51” contend about the positive and negative effects of the Constitution. Both essays are important documents for early American history, and both contain valid points. James Madison, however, presents the better argument with his diplomatic, content, and logical approach. “The Federalist No. 51” begins with a question about how America can properly divide government power (Madison 1). Madison believes the Constitution is the answer because it gives the foundations and tools to keeping the power of the government for the people.

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“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.

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The Federalist Papers: Taxation The Federalist papers provided the reasons to support the (then) new plan of government characterized in the Constitution and replied to all critiques of the plan. The Federalist papers were analyzed on how creating a strong government would be harmful to liberty. What the critiquers were not understanding was that an active government is necessary to the survival of liberty. The Articles of Confederations plan did not completely protect these human liberties. The plan did not act significantly on the people and could not enforce its laws.

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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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Numerous thoughts were proposed amid the drafting of the constitution however maybe none as vital as that of balanced governance. This thought is exemplified in James Madison's The Federalist. He additionally does this by demonstrating that the legislature must have fundamental measures to control itself. Both of the thoughts he bolsters in his paper show that he was an extraordinary supporter of the endorsement of

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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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These would incorporate the bad side of human nature into the very delicate clockwork of what today is government. To accomplish this task, he blended the three branches of governmental power, this enabled each branch to guard against masses of power. It allowed the other branches to safeguard its own constitutional province or territory in its rank of government. Madison wanted the different branches of government to strictly check each other for power control. The two houses of Congress, the national, and state governments, were able to look at each other in the use of power, which guaranteed the diffusion of governmental power.

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The Federalist Papers were a series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Thomas Jefferson, the Federalist Papers were meant to explain how the U.S. Constitution works and how it benefits the country. The three men wrote the papers as an effort to promote public support for the ratification of the Constitution. In addition to promoting support for the new American government, The Federalist Papers also promoted support for Alexander Hamilton's ideas regarding national security and banking. The Federalist Papers helped get the Constitution ratified by the states, creating a stronger federal government than the Articles of Confederation.

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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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