Federalist Papers Number 10 and 51 - Essay Example

?Introduction Federalist Papers are considered as the most important source of constitutional history of United s of America and outlined the basic principles based on which the foundations of US were built. Comprising of series of 85 articles, Federalist Papers were mostly published during the period of Oct 1787 & Aug 1788. The overall purpose was not only to reshape the constitution of the country but also to ensure the ratification of the US as a combined State. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton as well as John Jay are considered as the authors of these papers though at the time of their publication, the original authorship of these articles were kept secret. Out of all these articles, federalist paper 10 and 51 are considered as most important papers outlining the broader scope and structure of the constitution of the country besides presenting plausible arguments in favor of the formation of one large State. Federalist 10 actually dealt with how to deal with small factions or interest groups and what should be the overall structure of the State to overcome or control such factions. It is written in continuation of the Federalist 9 and also outlines as to how the existence of such groups can tear apart the whole republic. Federalist 51 discusses as to how an effective system of checks and balance as well as the separation of the powers within the government. This paper will therefore discuss both these papers and will explore some of the key arguments made in these papers. Federalist # 10 Federalist 10 discussed extensively the role of the factions and how they can actually damage a republic. Madison was of the view that there are two ways through which such factions can be dealt with. He was of the view that either the very cause of the factions should be removed or the damage caused by such factions should be controlled. 1. His arguments therefore were largely in favor of how to balance both the aspects of factions and devise mechanism to deal with them. One of the key arguments made by the Madison outline that such factions cannot be eliminated altogether because majority can also form such factions. The republic according to Madison however, should be large and diverse enough while at the same time maintain the enough commonality. Madison argued in this paper that a direct democracy would be necessary in place of indirect democracy. Further, he was of the view that the representative democracy should be implemented in order to protect the interests of the individuals from the majority rule. (Meyerson, 2008) The role of anti-federalist however, should also be taken into consideration in the wake of their overall stance on the formation of a central authority. Madison throughout this paper argued that the formation of a large republic is essential in order to control the influence of such faction groups. Anti-federalists also argued that a diverse republic would be difficult to survive and therefore advocated giving more powers to the States based on the notion of locality. (Amar, 1993) The arguments of the anti-federalist can also be considered as interesting in the sense that they argued that the states a large state of the size of United States would eventually fail. As such the notion that a large republic is necessary in order to control the influence of the factions would not provide any credible or long term solution to the problem. Anti-federalist view also holds that if the republic is consolidated and a larger State is created, the overall chances of the representation of the people would be reduced. They argue that its through local participation that the representation of citizens could be ensured. In nutshell, Federalist 10 argued that the factions and their influence in the society and political activity could be controlled through the creation of a larger republic managed through representative democracy. Federalist#51 Federalist 51 is another important essay in the series of Federalist Papers outlining the need to have a proper check and balance system. Further it also outlines the need for separation of power in the government. Outlining the overall purpose of the paper, Madison argued that by creating separate branches of the government, the overall rights of the people can be safeguarded. By advocating less dependency of each member of different departments, it can be ensured that the overall influence of each department on other would be less. Madison starts his arguments by suggesting that the very structure of the government can itself serve as the most important source to protect the liberty of the individuals.2 The overall scheme of checks and balances therefore would work by the formation of independent institutions which work under their assigned duties and responsibilities. Further, the idea of the flourishing of the self government in a large country or republic like US can also induce the overall checks and balance system within the government. Madison also concluded that since legislature is the strongest institution in the government therefore it should be divided into different parts in order to ensure that the overall functioning of this arm of government is well organized while complying with the notion of checks and balance. The constitution of the country therefore is more in favor of giving powers to the legislatives and Madison also advocated more focus on the legislative while at the same time ensuring that the checks and balance remain the top priority in order to balance power between the legislature as well as the executive. These arguments of Madison can also be viewed from the perspective that Madison was in favor of pluralism in politics therefore focused on creating a system of checks and balance to separate the powers between different branches of the State. Further, he suggested that the very structure of the government can serve as a strong source of achieving this objective. Madison also discussed factions in this paper and argued that the overall diversity of the factions could ensure that no one group will be able to gain dominance over others. Madison also suggested that the social fabric of the society can also play an important role in achieving such objectives. He argued that a republic with multiplicity of the interest could off-set the interests of any particular group.3 The very sociological construction of the American society therefore can serve as the strong source to ensure that a proper system of checks and balance is already in place. Conclusion Federalist 10 and 51 are focused on apparently two different issues however, they are inter-connected in the sense that both not only discuss the issue of factions but also outline the interlink between sharing the power. Federalist 10 is important in the sense that it suggest that in order to control different factions, a larger republic is necessary. It also suggests that through direct and representative democracy, this objective could be achieved. Federalist 51 however, further discusses as to how to balance the power between different sections or departments of the government. It therefore presupposes that a large republic is already in place implying that the issue of factions has been taken care of. Once a large republic is in place, it is then important that the overall structure of the government should be such that it can ensure the interest of no particular group is served. Further, the sociological construction of the American society can also become an important source to nullify the interests of the different factions and therefore can provide assistance in terms of ensuring that a proper system of checks and balance is in place. Bibliography Amar, A. R. (1993). Anti-federalists, The Federalist Papers, and the big argument for union. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy , 16 (1), 111. Madison, J. (n.d.). FEDERALIST No. 10. Retrieved August 03, 2011, from Founding Fathers: http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed10.htm Meyerson, M. I. (2008). Liberty's Blueprint: How Madison and Hamilton Wrote the Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution, and Made Democracy Safe for the World. New York: Basic Books. Read More