The second argument stated that to keep the government in check there is a series of checks and balances that will not let one branch of government gain too much control. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay put forth many of the arguments in support of the Constitution, but these two stood out more than the rest. In more depth, the first argument states that the government is directly related to the common people. The powers of the government come from ordinary powers or the common people and these ordinary powers have the ability to make changes in the government. The Constitution was designed in a manner as to protect the people of the nation both at the time the Constitution was produced and up to a time that the government might be destroyed.
Madison speaks of the problems of the present attempts at a new government saying “our governments are too unstable, that the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties, and 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 over-bearing majority”. The crucial issue of Madison’s time was the right of the people. The people should be involved in their government, and know about how their government can work with them. Madison’s, The Federalist, No. 51 discusses separation of powers in the government and more of the Republican system of government.
A key issue raised by the Federalists in their campaign for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and by the Anti-Federalists in their campaign against it, was that of factions. In The Federalist No. 10, “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection,” James Madison defines the dangers of factions and elaborates on the effectiveness of a large, representative democracy in dealing with them. In Essay No. 3, the Anti-Federalist Cato argues that factions are necessary and we must preserve them in a large government if we are to prevent single individuals from corrupting the system.
Governments have different ends and different approaches. Good governments tend to serve public interests while bad governments serve only private interests. Madison’s solution is the best one to prevent people from the faction problem. It is better to have a strong constitutional republic so that people can have an equal say and equal representation. Faction is not only a problem in the democratic systems or in large republics as Madison states.
The idea of a governing body drawing its power directly from its constituents has been undermined by the corrupt nature of modern politics where politicians act out of self-interest. While the Constitution and later amendments had every intention of securing basic liberties, certain limitations later undermined the original intentions of the founding fathers to give power back to the people by placing the larger majority of power in the hands of the state. Federal limitations to certain amendments, known as federal mandates, have taken power away from the masses. To secure democracy and avoid further abuses of power by the judicial courts, an amendment should be made to the Constitution prohibiting the federal government from putting down mandates that directly interfere with the power given to the states by law. Federal politicians use desultory commands as leverage to ensure that the states comply with their wishes.
James Madison begins his famous federalist paper by explaining that the purpose of this essay is to help the readers understand how the structure of the proposed government makes liberty possible. Each branch should be, for the most part, in Madison's opinion, independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But, the framers recognized certain practical difficulties in making every office elective.
This power is demonstrated by the authority that the president is given by the constitution and the way that is interpreted and how presidents have used their powers and challenged congress for more power. The power of congress has been asserted in many ways, and will continue to be as long as our nation remains. The balance between powers will also remain in fluctuation, due to events that change the course of history. I do believe Congress should have an important role in foreign policymaking because it is crucial to our system of checks and balances. If one branch maintains too much power, the work of our forefathers to create a system different from the parliamentary system in England would all be in vain.
Check and balances empower the separate actors to evade or sieze the actions of other actors. This is often done with the practice of judicial review, vetoes, or regulatory oversight who strive to ensure all political power is used accordingly. Although the constitutional design of government has been practiced for centuries, the abuse of political power remains an issue in many counties includes developed democracies. The corruption is done in a variety of ways such as covering the spectrum form enacting legislation for thje benefit of smaller groups of supporters or voters to more direct corruption as receiving payments for political favors. Many individuals who reside in democratic nations believe separation of powers combined with checks and balances ensure the government remains fair and incurropt.
“In government the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such manner as that each may be a check on the other that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights.” -James Madison What president Madison ment was that the three branches come together and check and have some powers over each other so not one branch overpowers us people. The federal system of checks and balances keeps the executive, judicial and legislative branches from having too much power of each other. The process of checks and balances in our three branches is important because if we didn’t have them one branch would overpower all of congress and over power us people making it that we didn't have any rights. In each of the three branches they all have at least one power over the other two branches. In the Legislative branch the power they have over the executive branch is that they can impeach and veto the president.
The Constitution enabled the opportunity to form the federal government which based on the taxation with regard to create their own defense army as well as created judiciary and foreign relations (Ryan, 2012). It was crucial that the government avoid tyrannize over the states and the people. The Constitution formed the system in which there was a double sovereign, which allows citizen can access to the same authority in two different states. Madison argues that an extensive republic is the best security against factionalism, because it makes factions against each other without damaging as a whole, and making them exhaust each other during the conflict. The Federalists was dedicated to convince their opponents that fragile government cannot protect from foreign invasion and revolt.