Madison and Brutus - The Historical Development and Impact on American Politics - Essay Example

Task: Madison and Brutus The Federal and Anti-federal papers were essential essays penned by several who made a lasting influence in the upholding the constitution of America. On that note the Federalists papers had authors such as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay who both used pen names to articulate their viewpoints concerning the beliefs on better governance of the citizens under the constitution. On the other hand, the Anti-federalists had authors such as Brutus, Cato, Centinel and Federal Farmer. The anti-federalists also used pseudonyms in calling for the inclusion of Bill of Rights of into the new constitution while Madison in his federalist papers was of opposing view (Madison and et al 23). On that aspect, this discussion will cover the different ways in which the ideologies of Madison in the federal papers helped shape America in its historical development and the influence it had on American politics. In addition, the essay analyzes the significance of basic rights of the citizens and how it helps in advancing the interests of the country as proposed by Brutus in the anti-federal papers. Similarly, the controlling of factions with intentions of exploiting the interests of the economy as articulated by Madison is also of interests in this discussion. There are different ways in which Madison and Brutus can assess groups in the context of the historical development and impact on American Politics. For instance, according to Madison in Federalist No. 10 he believed that certain factions or interests groups should not be allowed to take over the affairs of country at the expense of ordinary citizens or the entire community (Madison and et al 93). According to Madison, a faction is composed of a number of citizens who can include majority or minority and are joined by a common interest that is likely to endanger the welfare of the community. In addition, Madison’s Federalist No. 10 stressed the tendency of disproportionate distribution of wealth and property by the factions within the American politics. On that note, Madison called for safe guarding of the republic through discouragement of creation of numerous states within American. Alternatively, Madison continues in the Federal paper No. 10 that the governance by the majority faction in a republic is a violation of the American Constitution and mockery of the American revolution in that it does cater for the interests of the citizens but that of its own. In addition, the Federal paper No. 51 further calls for transparency and accountability among leaders in the emerging American republic to shield common citizens from exploitation of the power elite (Madison 103). On that aspect, Madison was against the creation of individual states as this would interfere with the principles of constitution of making American republic. Alternatively, Madison had a number of suggestions on how to overcome the challenges of factions especially in the defense of vulnerable citizens. For instance, he suggested that eliminating the causes of factions and the control of its effects was the first strategy of alleviating its negative effects. On that perspective, he also came up with two strategies of eradicating the causes of factions for the benefit of the American interests (Madison and et al 72). These included taking away the liberty of citizens something Anti-Federalists such as Brutus felt against. Another measure was to grant every American citizen a chance to speak his opinions, passions and express his interests. Therefore, this would prevent factions from taking advantage of ordinary citizens and thus transform the perception of American politics. On the other hand, when it comes to Anti-Federalist No. 3 that was championed by Brutus and others, they had opposing perspectives with the Federalists. For example, Brutus Anti-Federalist papers were against the denying of citizens liberty in order to contain the factions as suggested by Madison in his Federalist papers No. 10 and 50. On that account, Brutus was of the opinion that citizens should be granted individual freedoms to make choices on issues of appropriate governance and policy making (Madison and et al 56). Therefore, on that perspective, Bill of Rights was incorporated into the American constitution in order to help the government respect its citizens. Similarly, in order assess groups in the context of the historical development and impact on American Politics, the Anti-Federalists led by Brutus championed for the autonomy of states to enable devolution of power to the citizens. Furthermore, in contrast to what Madison articulated in Federalist papers No. 10 and 50 concerning controlling the factions, Brutus insists levels of corruption is rampant in the central government than in the states. This has an influence on the modern American politics in terms of upholding the independence of states to enable them bring services closer to the people. On the other hand, according to Brutus there was need to protect the constitution and permit fundamental rights of the masses so to prevent the government from becoming dictatorial. On that aspect, Brutus meant that to respect the new republic of America and its guiding constitution, powers of the state had to serve the common man and his interests without acting as factions (Madison and et al 46). In the current American politics, this is applicable in terms of bestowing authority upon the hands of citizens in terms of voting for crucial issues as Health care and war bills. In addition, on the perspective of Brutus, the sovereignty of the state could not be affected the interests of factions as articulated by Madison in his Federal papers No. 10 and 51 but only the free masses equipped with fundamental rights. In conclusion, there are a few critical issues to observe. For instance, despite the insistence by Madison on the safeguarding the American constitution and revolution, the need for fundamental rights is still paramount (Madison and et al 67). This is why the ideologies of anti-federalists such as Brutus of incorporating essential freedoms into the constitution were crucial in protecting the interests of every American citizen. Furthermore, the significance of controlling the selfish factions in America as a way of protecting the interests of the common citizens is effective in ensuring American politics respects the constitution. Finally, the federalists’ view of indentifying the causes and effects of faction interests helps in preventing the repeated exploitation of the masses by a few groups in the government. Work Cited Madison, J et al. The Federalist: a commentary on the Constitution of the United States: a collection of essays. New York, NY: Oxford University. 1864. Print Read More