Federalist No' 51

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Federalist No. 51

• By James Madison

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Federalist 51

• Federalist 51 was written as a response to the
  argument by the Anti-Federalists that the
  Constitution created a national government that
  would be too powerful.

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Small Group Objective 30 minutes

• Create a sentence identifying the basic premise
  of this essay.
• In your group, create an outline of Madisons
  main points made in Federalist 51.

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Premise

• There is a need to devise an internal structure
  which will serve as a check against the abuses of
  the government and against the abuses of the
  majority and therefore preserve liberty and
  pursue justice most appropriately.

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Federalist 51 Outline

• Maintaining the separation of powers in practice
  requires giving each branch the means of checking
  the others.
• Members of one branch should not appoint members
  of the other branches, but an exception is made
  in the case of the Judiciary (Unique
  Qualifications, life appointment).
• Members of one branch should not be dependent on
  the other branches for pay and perks.
• Above all, each branch must have the means and
  motive to check and balance the others.
• i. Ambition vs. Ambition
• ii. If men were angels, ..
• iii. Auxiliary Precautions
• Overwhelming power of the legislature requires
  dividing it into two parts and strengthening the
  executive branch.
• Protection of liberty further enhanced by
  dividing power between the national and state
  governments (Double Security) and by diluting
  the influence of majority factions (Federalist
  10).

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Question What is Madison trying to say?

• In the extended republic of the United States,
  and among the great variety of interest, parties,
  and sects which it embraces, a condition of a
  majority of the whole society could seldom take
  place on any other principles than those of
  justice and the general good.
• James Madison wrote these words in The Federalist
  No. 51, about
• The rise of factions
• The need for a system of checks and balances
• The need for a system of federalism
• Majority rule and minority protection
• Choices b and c

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Key Points

• Need double security of separated powers within a
  division of powers (US federal republic
  establishes this).
• -Will this create inefficiency? Gridlock?
• Justice is the true end of every society and thus
  every government, this is best achieved, given
  human frailties, by having power checked
  constitutionally and structurally See next
  Slide excerpt

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Madisons Influence

• If men were angels, no government would be
  necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither
  external nor internal controls on government
  would be necessary. In framing a government
  which is to be administered by men over men, the
  great difficulty lies in this You must first
  enable the government to control the governed
  and in the next place, oblige it to control
  itself. A dependence on the people is no doubt
  the primary control on the government but
  experience has taught mankind the necessity of
  auxiliary precautions.

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Key Points

• The smaller the republic the more the need for a
  will independent of the people (this is
  undesirable and must be countered by a
  dispersed-large-republic, such as the USA).
• Aristocracy or monarchy may be represented in a
  majority. The likelihood of a majority is
  greater in a small republic.
• In a large republic there are many separations
  due to interests and the structure of government
  is a backup.
• The bigger the republic the more dispersed the
  factions
• An increase in the number of sects is good

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Key Points

• The US constitutional system has supremacy over
  state constitutions.
• The Federal government has supremacy, but the
  division of power between federal and state does
  add for a double security