James Madison, or better known as the “Father of the Constitution” helped put our nation to where we are today. Back in the late 1700’s Madison composed documents known as the Federalist Papers and in these documents, specifically Federalist paper 10 he describes to us and tries to define his thoughts on a “Republic” and a “Democracy”. Throughout this essay, a fair comparison will be given between both forms of government. Firstly, he states “a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.” (Madison, Fed. #10,1788) 1. In this type of government, a community could have a meeting and completely enact or defeat legislation through the votes in an election. Madison refers to a republic as “a republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place.” So, in simpler terms we could say that a democracy makes decisions together as a community on a smaller scale through a vote in comparison to a Republic where “representation” would be provided and citizens choose leaders to make decisions for them (Jeffersonian Perspective)3. …show more content…
One problem Madison addressed was factions. A faction is a small group within a larger one conflicting or disagreeing. When having just the people vote and discuss solemnly, they could make more problems based on what they wanted individually. So in turn, this was the danger of a direct democracy. The only way to fix this was to not have the people individually express yet on a larger scale be grouped by their thoughts as a whole. (What was James Madison
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.
Perhaps the most famous Federalist paper, Federalist 10, starts off by saying that one of the biggest arguments that favors the Constitution is that it creates a government suited to minimize the harm caused by factions. Faction, in this case, is defined as a group of people whether a minority or majority based on class, race, and profession that all share a common interest. It was inevitable that factions would occur and perhaps the defining characteristic was the unequal distribution of property. This would ultimately lead the poor without property to become the majority in a “tyranny of the masses.” Madison believed that there were two solutions in preventing majority factions, 1) Remover the causes, and 2) Control the effects.
Jefferson , the third U.S. president, actually copied twenty-six different passages from Beccaria’s text into his Commonplace Book by hand. Jefferson drafted three proposals for Virginia’s constitution that would have curtailed the death penalty’s use, and the Declaration of Independence famously recites the “inalienable” right to life. While Jefferson was part of a committee that expanded the death penalty’s availability in wartime, he also became a member of the Virginia Committee of Revisors for legal reform, drafting a bill for Virginia’s legislature specifically calling for proportionate punishments (citation). In a draft autobiography, written in the twilight of his life, Jefferson would reflect on the bill’s narrow defeat even as he
Jefferson, in his letter to Madison from Paris in 1787, is open to this Constitutional framing: “I like the organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary & Executive. I like the power given the Legislature to levy taxes, and for that reason solely approve of the greater house being chosen by the people directly. For tho' I think a house chosen by them will be very illy qualified to legislate for the Union, for foreign nations etc. Yet this evil does not weigh against the good of preserving inviolate the fundamental principle that the people are not to be taxed but by representatives chosen immediately by themselves.” (167) Where Jefferson differs from Madison and Adams is that Jefferson’s populism is much more direct in nature:
Gutzman writes, “There is no stone inscribed with Madison’s preferred titles from among the long list of names he earned, including Co-Author of The Federalist, Co-Author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Founder of the Republican party, Author of the Virginia Resolutions of 1798 and the Report of 1800, Rector of the University of Virginia, President of the American Colonization Society, and Sponsor of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - not to mention all the political offices he held, mostly to great effect.” (Gutzman 262). James Madison was not limited to political papers during the forming of the newly named America. Madison helped form the Democratic Republicans (now the Republican Party). If Madison hadn’t been a huge part of American politics since America was formed roughly two years after (1784) and went on until 1817, American politics would likely be dramatically different due to how involved Madison was within the political realm.
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.
President's Views on Slavery James Madison was the fourth president of the United States, who owned many slaves and did not free any of them. When James Madison died, he still owned around one hundred slaves. As a third generation slave owner, Madison did not see slavery as evil.
The founding fathers were smart men who the world looked up to because of their smart decisions, actions, that directed the U.S. to what it is today. But sadly in today’s society most people either have forgotten the things they did for us, or they just do not care. The founding fathers were great men who led this country to victory in war and on the political front. And often early U.S. history is portrayed as moving smoothly for the colonies turning into the a country of its own , but in reality it was just the opposite. George Washington our first president had problems figuring out ways to control the new nation as it progressed under his leadership.
Our Founding Fathers’ Government Constitutional Republic V. Direct Democracy Our founding fathers in the 1700s struggled to figure out what form of government fit our country. One thing our founding fathers wanted to have a fair and balanced government. “The constitution was signed by the United States on September 17,1787,” Many may question what form of government is the right way to go.
Factions and Federalist Essay No. 10 The federalist papers were a series of 85 essays written to convince the citizens of New York to ratify the constitution. Federalist essay No.10, written by James Madison, discusses political factions and their effects. Madison’s definition of a faction is clearly stated in the essay.
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.
James Madison’s main ideas in Federalist 10 were about factions and how to remove the causes but also control the effects. He described a faction as “By a faction, I understand a number if citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community (“The Federalist #10).” Madison was correct in his statements about removing the causes and controlling the effects of factions. During the time Federalist 10 was written the Federalists were using the papers to help convince the states to ratify the Constitution.
Author James Madison wrote several of the Federalist Papers to support the new United States Constitution and explain how it accounted for the most ideal system of government. To gain support from the public, Madison and the other authors explained in these papers the benefits of the government set up by the Constitution and how it would represent the ideals agreed upon by the founding minds of the country. Especially in the Federalist 10 and 51, Madison outlines how the government best protects and secures liberty. Madison explains in the Federalist 10 that extending republics protects liberty by safeguarding the Union against factions; he continues to assert in the Federalist 51 that the government can also protect liberty by implementing checks and balances.
In the first paragraph of the Federalist Paper 10, Madison explains what he is trying to do with the constitution. His main concerns were to establish a government that was capable of controlling violence and damage caused by factions. He believes that as long as men have different opinions, different amounts of property and wealth, then there will always be factions. When Madison says faction, he means a group of people that have some strong common passion or interest.
Federalist 51 is a primary source from the time of the creation of the constitution. It was written by James Madison on February 8, 1788. It is an essay describing the Constitution 's usage of checks and balances system and why it was needed. At the time, the constitution was newly written. So, under the pseudonym of Publius; James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and James Jay: three federalists (people who supported the constitution and favored a strong central government with power shared between states), wrote the Federalist Papers.