Federalist Number 51 Summary

James Madison opposes another paper entitled “Federalist Number 51”. This paper addresses issues on liberty, the structure of the government, and the branches of the government. Madison wanted to assure that all branches have the same amount of power and authority in order to gain independence in a particular branch. As citizens, we are supposed to elect the president, the legislators, and the judges. However, the judicial system does not work that way. People suffer in the judicial branch due to a lack of knowledge and power that is being withheld. Many people are not aware of the issues that is happening within the branch which typically causes chaos and destruction. Each judge should possess exceptional qualifications of a judge and be free of political

This happens so that no group will dominate over another group and to keep the stronger groups from combining. If the stronger groups combine with each other and began to form against the weaker small groups, liberty will be lost within the system of government and as a whole. Madison basically reiterates what he said in federalist number 10 by showing conflicts of interest when people join various groups. His main focus was to identify how he can decrease the risk. “But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit. It may even be necessary to guard against dangerous encroachments by still further precautions. As the weight of the legislative authority requires that it should be thus divided, the weakness of the executive may require, on the other hand, that it should be fortified.” (Madison, Fed. #51