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Madison's Views On Faction Summary

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1.) What does Madison mean by the term “Faction”? What is a modern term we would use today? Madison uses the term faction to refer to groups of individuals arguing not for the rights or good of the community as a whole, but rather that which would benefit those who hold similar positions or interests. Different factions represent different ideas, leading to conflict and debate. A modern term with a similar connotation would be a political party. 2.) What is the first method discussed by Madison for dealing with factions? The first method Madison proposed was the removal of that which causes factions, either by the elimination of liberty itself or ensuring that every citizen shares the same opinions and viewpoints. He concludes that neither …show more content…

The former is impossible, as any society is bound to have a majority of citizens who share common beliefs or ideas, and a minority of others who feel differently. This leaves only one option; to limit the authority of the majority and prevent them from dominating the minority. In order to prevent corruption or oppression, power must be distributed in a way that inhibits any one person or group from gaining too much of it. 4.) How does this essay by Madison tie into the separation of powers and checks and balances in the constitution? 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. 5.) Do you find Madison persuasive here? Why or why

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In Federalist 51 Madison talks about the need for elected government officials to be controlled by a system of checks and balances. He talks about how each part of the government must be made sure as to not get too powerful as they might overpower the others. To do this Madison states that power must be distributed equally between each part, and divided as much as possible. For example Madison says “In the republican form of government, the legislative branch tends to be the most powerful.”

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In this quote, Madison is saying that *the Constitution made the three branches divided in a way that they can watch and check over each other. This system guards against tyranny because it ensures that the three branches won’t overpower one another. * This shows how the Constitution uses a system of checks and balances to guard against

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As he explains in the paper, people are not perfect, so a government is needed. A government would not be necessary if people were perfect, but due to imperfection of people, control is needed inside and out of the government. Madison suggests that a separation of powers within the government is to keep watch on the other departments, and while this is occurring, no department has an equal amount of self-defense. Each department will have its own set of actions and will be appointed by different methods of election. Madison held that independent departments can seldom have connection to each other, while they do have a connection to the

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“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” (Document B) The Madison quote shows that no person or persons should acquire all powers of the government otherwise it will become a tyranny. Hence our government is split into three branches, all with different powers, so that we may have a separation of powers to protect against tyranny. This separation of powers helps prevent one group from taking over the other two so that our country shall not be ruled by a tyrant

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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.

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“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.

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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.

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Federalist paper #10 is called “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection” I think the most significant point in Federalist paper #10 is that Madison wanted to do away with “Factions”, or political parties. He believes that factions are not the best idea for the country

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Madison brings up that it isn’t possible to divide power absolutely equally and “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.” (2). And so, the legislative branch will be divided even more to try and combat the unbalance of power. Madison thought this system was a good method because he believed that it was part of human nature to have conflicting ideas and wants, and so each branch could keep the others in line and therefor no one power is above the others. Furthermore, Madison believes a bigger government with multiple branches is better because then it becomes difficult for one

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Thus causing even more conflict, especially amongst those not in the South. Another controversial issue was federalism because Marshall gave the national government a vast amount of power over state 's rights, and Taney believed more in giving power to the state rather than the national government. In addition, this is when outside groups started forming and lobbying their influence over government decisions, whether it is pertaining to slavery, rights, or economic interests. James Madison regarded “factions” or interest groups with concern when authoring segments of the Federalist Papers. The problem he envisioned was that eliminating them from the political scene was a threat to democratic principles, a cure worse than the disease.

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James Madison wrote The Federalist 51 in order to state how the future government would make liberty possible in society. Madison believed that each branch should be, for the most part, independent. Montesquieu previously thought of this idea of separation of power. He then goes on to explain that to ensure that each branch is independent, it would mean that the citizens would select the president, legislators, and the judges. However, framers found great difficulty in making the correct decision when it came to an election.

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1. What does Madison mean by faction and why might he have called them a "necessary evil" in a free society? Madison mean by faction are group of people that are not given the same equal freedom or same chances in living or doing their own things. Madison called them necessary evil because of without a balance and just government the society will fall. As the result, with a just and balance with equal divisions can make everything seem more functional and people will agree upon.

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In the case of taxation, the more powerful of the two parties would have the opportunity to impose higher taxes on the minority, thus, saving themselves money. Madison firmly believed that the constitution had the ability to solve the problems created by factions. Madison envisioned a large republic that would make it difficult for corrupt candidates to get elected. Madison expressed this by stating, In the next place, as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to centre in men who possess the most attractive merit and the most diffusive and established characters.

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James Madison created the separation of powers to maximize

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James Madison wrote Federalist 51 over 200 years ago, yet its words still impact today’s government in 2016. When writing Federalist 51, Madison had two main objectives in mind; he wanted a government with a separation of powers, and he also wanted minorities to be protected. Both of his objectives have been accomplished and continue to be present in today’s American government with the latter objective being more present in today’s government even more so than in the past. To begin with, power is separated in today’s government, preventing a single person or group from having absolute power since, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” according to John Dalberg-Acton. The American government is composed of three branches which power is separated amongst.

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