James Madison, author of Federalist No. 10

Federalist No. 10 (Federalist Number 10) is an essay by James Madison and the tenth of the Federalist Papers, a series arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. It was published on November 22, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all the Federalist Papers were published. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) The essay is the most famous of the Federalist Papers, along with Federalist No. 51, also by James Madison, and is among the most highly regarded of all American political writings. Federalist No 51 is an essay by James Madison, the fifty-first of the Federalist Papers. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[1]

No. 10 addresses the question of how to guard against "factions," groups of citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community. WikipediaManual of Style#National varieties of English.-->A political faction In today's discourse the term special interest often carries the same connotation. An interest group (also advocacy group, lobby group, pressure group or special interest group) is an organized collection of people who seek Madison argued that a strong, large republic would be a better guard against those dangers than smaller republics—for instance, the individual states. It is believed that James Madison took ideas from Thomas Hobbes in regards to ideas of a strong controlling government. Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation Opponents of the Constitution offered counterarguments to his position, which were substantially derived from the commentary of Montesquieu on this subject. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng

Federalist No. 10 continues a theme begun in Federalist No. 9; it is titled, " The Same Subject Continued: The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. Federalist No 9 ( Federalist Number 9) is an Essay by Alexander Hamilton and the ninth of the Federalist Papers. " The whole series is cited by scholars and jurists as an authoritative interpretation and explication of the meaning of the Constitution. JURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, written by founder Professor Bernard Hibbitts and a staff of more than Jurists have frequently read No. 10 to mean that the Founding Fathers did not intend the United States government to be partisan. Founding Fathers are persons instrumental in the establishment of an Institution, usually a political institution especially those connected to the origination of its Ideals A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral

Publication

By September 17, 1787, the Philadelphia Convention had submitted the Constitution to the states for ratification. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Philadelphia Convention (now also known as the Constitutional Convention, the Federal Convention, or the " Grand Convention at Philadelphia Anti-Federalist writers began to publish essays and letters arguing against ratification, and Alexander Hamilton recruited James Madison and John Jay to write a series of pro-ratification letters in response. James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding John Jay (December 12 1745 – May 17 1829 was an American Politician, Statesman, revolutionary, Diplomat, a Supreme Court Like most of the Anti-Federalist essays and the vast majority of the Federalist Papers, No. 10 first appeared in popular newspapers. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. It was first printed in the Daily Advertiser; in this it was remarkable among the essays of Publius, as almost all of them first appeared in one of two other papers, the Independent Journal and the New-York Packet. Federalist No. 37, also by Madison, was the only other essay to appear first in the Advertiser. Federalist No 37 is an essay by James Madison, the thirty-seventh of the Federalist Papers. ^[2]

Considering the importance later ascribed to the essay, it was reprinted only on a limited scale. On November 23, it appeared in the Packet and the next day in the Independent Journal. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Outside New York City, it made four appearances in early 1788: January 2 in the Pennsylvania Gazette, January 10 in the Hudson Valley Weekly, January 15 in the Lansingburgh Northern Centinel, and January 17 in the Albany Gazette. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Though this number of reprintings was typical for the Federalist, many other essays, both Federalist and Anti-Federalist, saw much wider distribution. ^[3]

On January 1, 1788, the publishing company J. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap & A. McLean announced that they would publish the first 36 of the essays in a single volume. This volume, titled The Federalist, was released on March 2, 1788. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Two later editions are of note. The first was by George Hopkins in 1802; in this edition Hopkins revealed that Madison, Hamilton, and Jay were in fact the authors of the series. In 1818, James Gideon published a third edition containing corrections by Madison, who by that time had completed his two terms as President of the United States. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by ^[4]

The question of faction

Federalist No. 10 continues the discussion of the question broached in Hamilton's Federalist No. 9. Federalist No 9 ( Federalist Number 9) is an Essay by Alexander Hamilton and the ninth of the Federalist Papers. Hamilton there addressed the destructive role of faction in breaking apart the republic. WikipediaManual of Style#National varieties of English.-->A political faction The question Madison answers, then, is how to eliminate the negative effects of faction. He defines a faction as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community. " He identifies the most serious source of faction to be the diversity of opinion in political life which leads to dispute over fundamental issues such as what regime or religion should be preferred. However, he thinks "the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. " He saw direct democracy as a danger to individual rights and advocated a representative democracy (also called a republic) in order to protect what he viewed as individual liberty from majority rule, or from the effects of such inequality within society. Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and Constitutional reform as a means of reviving public Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its He says, "A pure democracy can admit no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will be felt by a majority, and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Hence it is, that democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. "

Like the anti-Federalists who opposed him, Madison was substantially influenced by the work of Montesquieu, though Madison and Montesquieu disagreed on the question addressed in this essay. He also relied heavily on the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment, especially David Hume, whose influence is most clear in Madison's discussion of the types of faction and in his argument for an extended republic. The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments David Hume (26 April 1711 25 August 1776 Scottish Philosopher, Economist, and Historian is an important figure in Western philosophy

Madison's arguments

Madison first asserts that there are two ways to limit the damage caused by faction: either remove the causes of faction or control its effects. He contends that there are two ways to remove the causes that provoke the development of factions. One, the elimination of liberty, he rejects as unacceptable. The other, creating a society homogeneous in opinions and interests, he sees as impracticable. Madison particularly emphasizes that economic stratification, which naturally exists in a world where different people have different skills, prevents everyone from sharing the same opinion. Madison concludes that the damage caused by faction can be limited only by controlling its effects.

He then argues that the only problem comes from majority factions because the principle of popular sovereignty should prevent minority factions from gaining power. Madison offers two ways to check majority factions: either prevent the "existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time," or render a majority faction unable to act. Madison concludes that a small democracy cannot avoid the dangers of majority faction because small size means that undesirable passions can very easily spread to a majority of the people, which can then enact its will through the democratic government without difficulty.

A republic, Madison writes, is different from a democracy because its government is placed in the hands of delegates, and as a result of this, it can be extended over a larger area. Madison contends that a large republic will elect better delegates than a small one for two reasons. First, in simplest terms, the idea is that in a large republic there will be more "fit candidates" to choose from for each delegate. Also, the fact that each representative is chosen from a larger constituency should make the "vicious arts" of electioneering less effective. For instance, in a large republic a corrupt delegate would need to bribe many more people in order to win an election than in a small republic. Second, in a republic the delegates both filter and refine the many demands of the people so as to prevent the type of frivolous claims that impede purely democratic governments.

Madison believes that larger societies will have a greater variety of diverse parties and interest groups, and that competition between them will make it less likely for a majority faction to form. This is a general application of the checks and balances principle, which is central to the American constitutional system. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance Madison gives the example that even if an undesirable passion takes control of a single state, it would probably not be able to harm the entire country because it would first need to spread to many more states. He also argues that in a republic as large as the United States, corrupt factions would not be able to effectively collude and exercise power. In conclusion, Madison emphasizes that the greater size of the Union will allow for more effective government than independent states could ever provide individually.

Though Madison argued for a large and diverse republic, the writers of the Federalist Papers recognized the need for a balance. They wanted a republic diverse enough to prevent faction but with enough commonality to maintain cohesion between the states. In Federalist No. 2, John Jay counted as a blessing that America possessed "one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion. Federalist No 2 is an essay by John Jay, the second of the Federalist Papers. John Jay (December 12 1745 – May 17 1829 was an American Politician, Statesman, revolutionary, Diplomat, a Supreme Court " Madison himself addresses a limitation of his conclusion that large constituencies will provide better representatives. He notes that if constituencies are too large, the representatives will be "too little acquainted with all their local circumstances and lesser interests. " He says that this problem is partly solved by federalism. Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing No matter how large the constituencies of federal representatives, local matters will be looked after by state and local officials with naturally smaller constituencies.

Contemporaneous counterarguments

George Clinton, widely believed to be the Anti-Federalist Cato

The Anti-Federalists vigorously contested the notion that a republic of diverse interests could survive. This page is for the US Vice President For others of that name see George Clinton. The author Cato (another pseudonym, most likely that of George Clinton) summarized the Anti-Federalist position in the article Cato no. This page is for the US Vice President For others of that name see George Clinton. 3:

Whoever seriously considers the immense extent of territory comprehended within the limits of the United States, together with the variety of its climates, productions, and commerce, the difference of extent, and number of inhabitants in all; the dissimilitude of interest, morals, and policies, in almost every one, will receive it as an intuitive truth, that a consolidated republican form of government therein, can never form a perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to you and your posterity, for to these objects it must be directed: this unkindred legislature therefore, composed of interests opposite and dissimilar in their nature, will in its exercise, emphatically be, like a house divided against itself. ^[5]

Generally, it was their position that republics about the size of the individual states could survive, but that a republic on the size of the Union would fail. A particular point in support of this was that most of the states were focused on one industry—to generalize, commerce and shipping in the northern states and plantation farming in the southern. The Anti-Federalist belief that the wide disparity in the economic interests of the various states would lead to controversy was perhaps realized in the American Civil War, which some scholars attribute to this disparity. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South ^[6] Madison himself, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, noted that differing economic interests had created dispute, even when the Constitution was being written. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence ^[7] At the convention, he particularly identified the distinction between the northern and southern states as a "line of discrimination" that formed "the real difference of interests. "^[8]

The discussion of the ideal size for the republic was not limited to the options of individual states or encompassing union. In a letter to Richard Price, Benjamin Rush noted that "Some of our enlightened men who begin to despair of a more complete union of the States in Congress have secretly proposed an Eastern, Middle, and Southern Confederacy, to be united by an alliance offensive and defensive. Richard Price ( February 23, 1723 &ndash April 19, 1791) was a Welsh moral and political philosopher Benjamin Rush ( December 24 1745 &ndash April 19 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. "^[9] However, compromise ideas like this gained little traction.

In making their arguments, the Anti-Federalists appealed to both historical and theoretic evidence. On the theoretical side, they leaned heavily on the work of Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng The Anti-Federalists Brutus and Cato both quoted Montesquieu on the issue of the ideal size of a republic, citing his statement in The Spirit of the Laws that:

It is natural to a republic to have only a small territory, otherwise it cannot long subsist. Robert Yates (1738-1801 was a United States Politician well known for his Anti-Federalist stances The Spirit of Laws (French De l'esprit des lois) is a Treatise on Political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat In a large republic there are men of large fortunes, and consequently of less moderation; there are trusts too great to be placed in any single subject; he has interest of his own; he soon begins to think that he may be happy, great and glorious, by oppressing his fellow citizens; and that he may raise himself to grandeur on the ruins of his country. In a large republic, the public good is sacrificed to a thousand views; it is subordinate to exceptions, and depends on accidents. In a small one, the interest of the public is easier perceived, better understood, and more within the reach of every citizen; abuses are of less extent, and of course are less protected.

Brutus points out that the Greek and Roman states envisioned by many Americans as model republics (as evidenced by the choice of many authors on both sides of the debate to take Roman monikers) were small. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the Brutus also points out that the expansion of these republics resulted in a transition from free government to tyranny. ^[10]

Modern analysis and reaction

In the first century of the American republic, No. 10 was not regarded as among the more important numbers of The Federalist. For instance, in Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville refers specifically to more than fifty of the essays, but No. De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes the first in 1835 and the second in 1840 is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville 10 is not among them. ^[11] Today, however, No. 10 is regarded as a seminal work of American democracy. In "The People's Vote," a popular survey conducted by the National Archives and Records Administration, National History Day, and U.S. News and World Report, No. The United States National Archives and Records Administration ( NARA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government charged National History Day (NHD is a national American competition for students in grades 6-12 USNews & World Report is an influential weekly American Newsmagazine published in Washington D 10 (along with Federalist No. 51, also by Madison) was chosen as the 20th most influential document in United States history. Federalist No 51 is an essay by James Madison, the fifty-first of the Federalist Papers. ^[12]

Douglass Adair attributes the increased interest in the tenth number to Charles A. Beard's book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution, published in 1913. Douglass Adair (died May 2 1968) was an American Historian and historiographer. Charles Austin Beard ( November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) is widely regarded along with Frederick Jackson Turner, as one of An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States is a 1913 book by American Historian Charles A Adair also contends that Beard's selective focus on the issue of class struggle, and his political progressivism, has colored modern scholarship on the essay. Class struggle is the active expression of Class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. According to Adair, Beard reads No. 10 as evidence for his belief in "the Constitution as an instrument of class exploitation. "^[13] Adair's own view is that Federalist No. 10 should be read as "eighteenth-century political theory directed to an eighteenth-century problem; and . . . one of the great creative achievements of that intellectual movement that later ages have christened 'Jeffersonian democracy. '"^[14]

Garry Wills is a noted critic of Madison's argument in Federalist No. Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934 in Atlanta Georgia) is an Author and Historian, and a frequent contributor to the New York 10. In his book Explaining America, he adopts the position of Robert Dahl in arguing that Madison's framework does not necessarily enhance the protections of minorities or ensure the common good. Robert Alan Dahl (born 17 December 1915) is the Sterling Professor emeritus of Political science at Yale University. Instead, Wills claims: "Minorities can make use of dispersed and staggered governmental machinery to clog, delay, slow down, hamper, and obstruct the majority. But these weapons for delay are given to the minority irrespective of its factious or nonfactious character; and they can be used against the majority irrespective of its factious or nonfactious character. What Madison prevents is not faction, but action. What he protects is not the common good but delay as such. "^[15]

Application

Federalist No. 10 is the classic citation for the belief that the Founding Fathers and the constitutional framers did not intend American politics to be partisan. Founding Fathers are persons instrumental in the establishment of an Institution, usually a political institution especially those connected to the origination of its Ideals A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral For instance, United States Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens cites the paper for the statement, "Parties ranked high on the list of evils that the Constitution was designed to check. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is currently the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. "^[16] Discussing a California provision that forbids candidates from running as independents within one year of holding a partisan affiliation, Justice Byron White made apparent the Court's belief that Madison spoke for the framers of the Constitution: "California apparently believes with the Founding Fathers that splintered parties and unrestrained factionalism may do significant damage to the fabric of government. Byron Raymond White ( June 8, 1917 &ndash April 15, 2002) won fame both as a football Running back and as an associate justice of See The Federalist, No. 10 (Madison). "^[17]

Madison's argument that restraining liberty to limit faction is an unacceptable solution has been used by opponents of campaign finance limits. Justice Clarence Thomas, for example, invoked Federalist No. Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American Jurist. He has been serving as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 10 in a dissent against a ruling supporting limits on campaign contributions, writing: "The Framers preferred a political system that harnessed such faction for good, preserving liberty while also ensuring good government. Rather than adopting the repressive 'cure' for faction that the majority today endorses, the Framers armed individual citizens with a remedy. "^[18]

Notes

References

External links

• Online text of Brutus, no. 1, at http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/, the online edition of The Founders' Constitution, hosted by the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.
• Online text of Cato, no. 3, same source as above.