James Madison, the 4th president of the United States, wrote "10th Federalist (1787)" in regards to the safety of the size of a republic and "factions" inside of the commonwealth. He writes about larger republics being preferred than smaller republics because people are likely to form special interest groups to keep the population more diverse. Having special interest groups known as "factions" are known to be more effective in a larger republics. Its due to the fact that there are more people in large republics, individuals are more likely to join the group and have more supporters. These groups can range from being harmless or being as dangerous as home grown terrorist groups. The political theorist states his theory of republic size, and the relationship between the size of a republic and the factions that grow with in it. …show more content…
"...to refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country." (Madison 4) Larger republics give more space to individuals to give them room to express their interests. In turn the people will favor their state and be supportive in what their state does, i.e. pass laws or taxation. By having many individuals, representatives are used to give the people a voice to speak with government. This will the people a chance to express their thoughts more effectively to government. Compared to smaller republic, there are a fewer individuals with the want to express their opinions and contribute to their state. According the Madison, smaller republics have a flaw of having too many leaders and not enough followers. Which results in leaders fighting over power and control. Due to the fact that larger republics have several "factions", in causes to make an interesting
With a higher populace comes the ability to have a larger fighting force. Another valid point that Madison brings up is that small republics are often prone to faction, and eventually fall apart. With a large republic, you can “tame” the factions with majority rule, while letting them freely express their opinions. I agree with Madison on many of these points, but I think that he would change his opinion on many after seeing the current condition of the United States. The governing body has grown so large that it has become inefficient and in many areas has lost its ability to do what is best for the
The constitution would scrutinize the power of factions by balancing one against the other. According to Madison, factious leaders may "kindle a flame" within their state, but would be unable to spread a general conflagration throughout other states. Direct democracies or pure democracy (a form of democracy in which people decide policy initiatives directly) cannot control factious conflicts because the strongest faction will always have influence and it is difficult to protect the weaker factions against the actions of a strong majority. Direct democracies cannot protect personal and property rights and have always been full of conflict. Madison believed that selecting a representative for a larger society would result in the minority having a more equal
The pitfalls of establishing a pure democracy would destroy individual rights, and that they can admit no cure for misconduct and create violence among people. Madison prefers a republic because it would protect individual rights from majority rule, and would protect from inequalities among people. Also in a republic, delegates would be placed in power that would provide a large option of character to run the government.
Federalist No. 10 written by James Madison under a pen name in a New York newspaper, explained the problems with factions and how the constitution would defeat the problem associated with faction. Faction first off is a group of people in a population whether the amount equals up to the majority or minority of the group doesn't matter, only matters that it is a group of the population that doesn't think of the good of the people. According to James Madison in Federalist No. 10 the Constitution would overcome problems of factions because while if a faction is not a majority there is no real concern in a democracy. There is however major concern with a majority-faction democracy, two ways that the nation is protected from this through the constitution
One of the biggest sources that factions come from are from the distribution of land. There are two main ones, those with lots and land and those with little land. Even though these groups conflict, the government is obliged to guard the interests of each group. Madison stated two ways to control factions, which were to remove its causes and controlling its effect. Madison says next that he worries about corruption of members of the new government, but says it is less likely because representative will be chosen by a large population. He also discusses the differences between a republic and a democracy, along with that the main goal of the Constitution is to make all 13 states secure from threats and invasion.
In Federalist 10, James Madison explains why the framers of the constitution chose a representative democracy, a republic, as opposed to a “pure democracy”. His argument being that a pure democracy consists of a small number of citizens who congregate and conduct and handle the government in person, but since the United States of America was geographically too large, it disqualified the option of administering a pure democracy. In addition, he argued that pure democracies presented more than one difficulty. For one, pure democracies in essence suppress individual rights and weaker parties. Madison also acknowledged that face-to-face interaction could prove to be more
Federalist paper No.10, written by James Madison, is saying that in any form of government people are going to form factions and come together,with similar interests,The larger the faction the harder it will be to merge. What Madison is
According to Madison, A republic does solve the problem of a democracy. This is true because it makes it harder for factions to take over. It solves a lot of problems with factions. For example, “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking.” (Madison 341). It would be natural and most likely common for factions to take over a small group of people in a democracy. However; in a large group of people, giving in to temptation is harder because there are already so many people in charge. Even financially they would probably have to split their checks even more if more people got into the group. I believe he’s right because it’s almost like common sense to them, you can probably influence one another better in a small group. With a big group, you have many different people with numerous types of opinions. It’s hard to have other political people agree with one
Madison argued that the large size of the country would actually make it more difficult for factions to gain control over others. Madison then argues that the only two ways exist to deal with the problem: either eliminate factions by removing their causes, or limit their impact by controlling their effects.
James Madison, one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution, believed that democracy could be destroyed by the wrong groups of people. He stated that he believed the best protection was a large republic. James Madison believed that the people should have
Change will never happen on its own, there has to be a force pushing against an idea that is strong enough to alter or obliterate it. Robert F. Kennedy was a man who pushed for change. He worked to better the lives of union workers, improve the social justices surrounding African Americans, and cut down organized crime. Kennedy made a point of involving himself politically to bring about these changes. Not everyone will get involved to the point of holding an elected office, but everyone should participate in the political acts of decision making. One may even participate through an interest group, so as to hopefully amplify the weight their vote may carry. That vote, however, can only possess weight if it is cast.
President James Madison wrote an essay titled “Federalist Paper No. 10” where he expressed the initial ideas of pluralism. Pluralism is and remains the idea that a good democracy runs on special interest groups opposing one another to balance each other out and arrive at what can be a decidedly common good. Many argue however, that with so many varying interests in a large society, what is a common good for a certain group, may not even begin to resolve or compromise another group's
Pluralism consists of various interest groups working against each other, balancing one another out so that the common good is achieved. President James Madison first put forth this idea in an essay called Federalist Paper No. 10(1787), which urged New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution. According to Madison, competing interest groups are necessary to government because they not only give people a means of contributing to the democratic process, but also prevent any one minority from imposing its will on the majority. Therefore, interests
There is a distinct influence on how special interest groups impact law maker’s actions. When making campaign contributions, special interest groups gain the support of candidates to support their causes if they win the election. Candidates promise to support political action committees (PACs) when they are in office and these PACs help them determine what the important issues are at election time. Special interest groups usually contribute to those who have helped them before and those who serve on committees or subcommittees that routinely consider legislation of concern to that group.
Madison believes that "because of Mans sinful nature, we cannot live in a state of anarchy; we need government to maintain law and order" -John Eidsmoe "celebrating Calvin's legacy". people always create factions with having a republic, It can protect the tearany of the masses. The more people you have in a republic the less chance for corruption.