The Role Of James Madison's Arguments In A Large Republic

Without a large republic not only are you going to have the tyranny of the majority, but you are not going to have a unified country. If we become factionalized to the point where every person represents their own views we are going to be headed towards civil war quickly, and we are going to break up as a nation. By having a large republic and by having all of these voices silenced in their factions we can stay coherent. Madison comes to the conclusion we are not going to have a large enough faction to tear the nation apart, but he is wrong because different opinions will always exist as long as people are free and self-love exist. These factions are inevitably going to tear the nation apart.

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.

Tola APGOPO 10/9/12 Exemplar Large Republic: Best Control of Effects of Factions Federalist 10 Summary: In Federalist 10, James Madison or Publius asserts that the Constitution establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions. He states that Antifederalist complain that the government is too unstable, claim rival parties disregard the public good, and that decisions are made by the majority rather than by justice and the rights of the minority. Madison goes on to define a faction as a group of citizens, either a majority or minority, whose actions are motivated by a passion or interest that hurts the rights of other citizens or goes against the best interests of the

He says that a democracy in its roots is a breeding ground for factions. A democracy is too free, he says, and men left alone to govern themselves will inevitably create factions because of the reasons previously stated. He says “there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual.” However, the government set up by the Constitution is a Republic. A Republic, he argues, must have not too many but also not too few representatives to control factions.

Factions which defined by Madison are groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special

James Madison believes that the government should be broken into parts that are partially independent. Each part of government should demonstrate the different and distinctive attributes of the governments’ powers and preservation of liberty. So that separate branches of government are mostly independent, Madison issues that no one part of government should not have power over the selecting a number from another branch of government. He says that this instead should be given to the

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

10 and no. 51, in regards with factions. Madison proposed a large republic, in which the minority and majority could chose representatives, the most properly informed, to make decisions without disregarding the good/interests of the other. In this Madison also expresses the loyalty of the representatives is demanding, which is very similar to Locke’s view on the on the government’s obligation and duty to never serve against the people and always in the best interest of the people. In Locke’s suggestion of the three branches he also bring along with it the urge for checks and balances, an urge that Madison acknowledged and engaged in densely when trying to establish the Constitution as a savior. As Madison stated, “government…greatest of all reflections on human nature” (Madison Federalist no. 51), Locke also, to a lesser extent, agreed, rather introduced this thought.

The Great Compromise which was founded at the Constitutional Convention wasn't formed without trouble. Many of the delegates that participated in the convention were wealthy landowners and lawyers, who owned many slaves. They failed to notice the diversity that excited within the nation. As they talked how to repair the Articles of Confederation, issues would arise that would create continuous debates amongst each other. One of the issues that would arise would be the nature of the new government.

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.

Thus causing even more conflict, especially amongst those not in the South. Another controversial issue was federalism because Marshall gave the national government a vast amount of power over state 's rights, and Taney believed more in giving power to the state rather than the national government. In addition, this is when outside groups started forming and lobbying their influence over government decisions, whether it is pertaining to slavery, rights, or economic interests. James Madison regarded “factions” or interest groups with concern when authoring segments of the Federalist Papers. The problem he envisioned was that eliminating them from the political scene was a threat to democratic principles, a cure worse than the disease.

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.

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.

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

This paper examines both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and James Madison remark concerning ‘ factions ’ as the potential destructive social force to the society. To layout and examine, this paper will first outline and discuss on Rousseau’s understanding of factions in The Social Contract,and Madison’s discussion on factionalism in the Federalist Papers 10.But there are many component surrounded with their view’s on ‘factions’,so it is important to consider together. Firstly,I will consider the definition and the element surrounded with their view on factions. With regard to Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract,he believes that the society can only function to the extent that people have interest in common.