James Madison envisioned that basic governing structures, virtues, and inherent fairness for everyone would ensure that liberty and justice were sustained; however, the author states that neither competence nor virtue is certain. (613, 623) In order to provide an insight to the mindset of James Madison’s vision for the Constitution’s use in American government, Lynn uses excerpts from the Federalist to show the reader how Madison incorporated an “institutional design” to structure and guide the separated powers of our government as well as the checks and balances used to maintain order. (614) This approach made sense because the included excerpts showed that the structure of government has remained true. The author states that issues with the government arise due to the rival interests of our elected officials. He describes this as being “grid-locked” and states that the parties involved within our governing body become divided by these “ideological and interest-based” conflicts. The...
After hearing the warnings and complaints from many “considerate and virtuous citizens” about “instability, injustice, and confusion…[in] public councils,” Madison examines how factions influences society. He concludes that “governments are too unstable,…public good is disregarded,…[and measures] are too often decided…[by an] overbearing majority.” Such issues, Madison argues, result from “a factious spirit” within government (Federalist 10).
In Madison's Federalist 10, it is evident that he was not in favor of the formation of factions. He states, "…The public good is often disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties…" Madison made the point that the dangers of factions can only be limited by controlling its effects. He recognized that in order to abolish political parties from the government completely, liberty would have to be abolished or limited as well. For this reason, the government had to accept political parties, but it did not have to incorporate them into being a major part of the government. He says that the inclination to form factions is inherent, however the parties effectiveness can be regulated. If the party is not majority than it can be controlled by majority vote. Madison believed that in the government established by the Constitution, political parties were to be tolerated and checked by the government, however the parties were never to control the government. Madison was absolutely convinced that parties were unhealthy to the government, but his basic point was to control parties as to prevent them from being dangerous.
Madison begins perhaps the most famous of the Federalist papers by stating that one of the strongest arguments in favor of the Constitution is the fact that it establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions. Madison defines that factions are groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions. Although these factions are at odds with each other, they frequently work against the public interests, and infringe upon the rights of others.
He discusses how Madison noticed the problem of each of the 134 states having its own agenda. Madison even thought that people were interested in their local politics. They don’t think of the whole state or even the whole country (Wood, 2012). He wanted to change this and create a stronger government that would override certain state powers like money printing and the ability to pass tariffs. He suggested that democracy was not a solution, but a problem (Wood, 2012). Basically, on a state level, he wanted to elevate decision making to limit democracy which was actually causing more harm than
In Madison’s work of Federalist No. 10, he identifies factions were a problem. He views them as “a dangerous vice”, but at the same time saw factions as a necessary evil. He mentions that “The regulation of these various and interfering interest forms the principal task of modern legislation; and involves the spirit of party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of government.” Here Madison states that factions, opposed in spirit to democratic ideals, spreading “unsteadiness and injustice” which are actually necessary for the function of a representative government. Throughout his paper, Madison explains how pure democracy wouldn’t be able to work, because it had “no cure for the mischief of faction.” He believed that this type of government will give so much power to the majority that it was doomed to fail. He sounded very confident that the new constitution would work. He believed of having a representative and a republic system. He had no doubt in mind that new constitution would be the end of the states embarrassment to the world. Madison saw democracy not as an ideal but something that could be modified to be fitted.
Government: Government should, without a doubt, be one of the most used words in the Federalist Papers. The goal of these papers was to convince people to ratify and accept the Constitution, which requires inspiring confidence in the government that it sets up. The writers have to describe the government and the reasons why it's set up the way that it is.
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison stresses that “measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” Madison philosophized that a large republic, composed of numerous factions capable of competing with each other and the majority must exist in order to avoid tyranny of majority rule.# When Federalist No. 10 was published, the concept of pluralism was not widely used. However, the political theory that is the foundation for United States government was the influential force behind pluralism and its doctrines.
In conclusion, Madison thinks the human nature is ambitious, and the fixed outcome of human ambitions is people create factions to promote their own interests. In the case of preventing corrupt or mischief by factions, he believes majority and pure democracy is not a solution. The method he advocated is a large republic with checking system. He converts human ambition to provide internal checks and balances in government. His point of view stimulated the approval of the proposal of the United States Constitution.
This was written and documented by MADISON and it is about the roles and the abouts of factions and militias. Madison defines factions as being groups of peole who gather up together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions about how the feel. what they stand for basically and the factions want some sort of change to happen. but one of the big problems going on when this was written was when these factions and militias got together their would be a form of violence or some form of destruction to things and people around them. in all of this there needed to overall be a damage control for these groups of people whenever they decided to gather up together. so madison comes up with two methods to stop these people from committinng chaos and anarchy, his first method was to eliminate and remove its CAUSES all together.