...Prof. Gillooly 03/06/2015 The Significance of the Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers, is a compilation of 85 articles, advocating the ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States. These series of articles were published by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay between October 1787 and May 1788. The overall intention of the Federalist Papers was to explain the advantages of the proposed Constitution over the prevailing Articles of Confederation. The Federalist Papers impacted the ratification of the Constitution by making some of their most important objections, including the significance of having a Constitution, acknowledging to the disagreements made by the Antifederalists, and defending conflicting arguments made against the attributes of the executive and judicial branch as specified in the proposed Constitution. Before the ratification of the Constitution, the central government under the Articles of Confederations was very weak and in jeopardy of falling apart. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, who were Federalists believed as well that the Articles of Confederation was too weak to maintain a powerful central government and needed to be restored by the U.S Constitution. The fundamental goal of the U.S constitution was to secure the rights of the U.S citizens and for the federal government to strive for the common good of the individuals. The Federalist Papers illustrates how the federal government is divided into three distinct...
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...“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”(Madison, 1787) The Federalists, writing under the pseudonym Publius, advocated a strong central government in the new nation. They argued against the Anti-Federalist writers like Brutus, whose ideas of an effective government resided with stronger state governments. Both views of the Federalists and the Anti-federalists were justified in unifying the newly emancipated American colonies. While there is much debate on who theoretically won the political battle that resulted in the ratification of the constitution in 1789, it is clear that the modern American government no longer represents James Madison ideals of a balanced federal...
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...governments from enforcing ex post facto laws (laws that allow punishment for an action that was not criminal at the time it was undertaken) and provisions barring bills of attainder. The framers, and notably James Madison, its architect, believed that the Constitution protected liberty primarily through its division of powers that made it difficult for an oppressive majorities to form and capture power to be used against minorities. In the ratification debate, Anti-Federalists opposed to the Constitution, complained that the new system threatened liberties, and suggested that if the delegates had truly cared about protecting individual rights, they would have included provisions that accomplished that. With ratification in serious doubt, Federalists announced a willingness to take up the matter of a series of amendments, to be called the Bill of Rights, soon after ratification and the First Congress came into session. The concession was undoubtedly necessary to secure the Constitution's hard-fought ratification. Thomas Jefferson, who did not attend the Constitutional Convention, in a December 1787 letter to Madison called the omission of a Bill of Rights a major mistake: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on Earth." James Madison was skeptical of the value of...
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...What type of government did the Federalists intend on creating? What type of government did the Antifederalists intend on creating? What was the major disagreement between the two factions? The Federalists intended on creating a stronger national government while the Antifederalists intended on creating a weaker national government. The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution while the Antifederalists didn’t until the Bill of Rights was added because they felt a powerful central government would threaten the liberties of citizens. 6. What are some criticisms of the separation of powers? Some criticisms of the separation of powers would be that it creates a stalemate when making policies, makes it harder to make decisions quickly and effectively in an emergency, and hurts our global leadership position. 7. Which concepts of government introduced in the Articles of Confederation were maintained in the Constitution? The concept of having a legislative branch persisted and Congress retained its ability to make peace, coin money, run the post office, and control the army. 8. What was the purpose of the Federalists papers? What are the two most important articles and who wrote...
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...Federalist Articles James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were the authors of the federalist papers. James Madison was the principle author for article No 10 and article No 51. The immediate purpose for publishing these papers were to obtain support for the ratification of the Constitution, they wanted a diverse republic to prevent faction but with equality to maintain unity among the states. Madison addresses that a large faction will provide better representatives, since the cause of faction has been the unequal distribution of property. Those who have property versus those who don’t, have ever had different interest in society. He saw direct democracy as a danger to individual rights and addressed for a representative democracy to protect individual liberty from majority rule. In federalist No 10 Madison discusses to guard against factions, or groups of citizens, how the passion and interest of one group could mean a danger to the government. In article No 51 the purpose is for four aspects: Layered representation which is the people that are elected directly or indirectly to represent other people, Separation of powers are the three branches that make, and enforce the law; judicial, executive, and legislative branches, Checks and balancing is the ability of each branch to check the powers of the others so the power is balance in all three branches, and Federalism which is the existence of two governments, state and federal and both governments have dominance over...
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...The Federalist papers were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. These were a series of eighty-five anonymous essays published in the New York newspapers. The main focus of the Federalist papers was to convince the people to ratify the proposed United States Constitution. During this time period, the people of the states were hesitant of the new written constitution. They were concerned that this new proposed form of government was going to be a too similar setup as to the King they had just fought a war to declare independence from. The states were also concerned that they were going to lose the majority of their powers to a declared and newly established federal government. The federalist papers were written with the intent of informing...
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...ratification process of the United States Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published a series of anonymous articles in the New York Times. Published under the name Publius, "The Federalist Papers," as they were called, advocated for the ratification of the new Constitution by New York State. Each of the papers, therefore, outlines the benefits of one united nation, as well as the interests of, and supported by, the proposed government. Written by Madison, Federalist Paper No. 10, generally considered one of the most important articles, concerns itself with the problems of and plausible solutions for the formation of factions. Through multiple assertions concerning the dangers of factions and the benefits of a republic, Madison formed one of the major arguments in favor of the United States Constitution. Federalist No. 10, titled "The Same Subject Continued: The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection," expanded on dangers of factions outlined by Hamilton in Federalist No. 9. Defined by Madison as, "A number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community" (Madison), factions are comparable to the modern day interest or lobby groups. That is to say, Madison defined factions as groups of people with a common self-interest...
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...written, they had gave too good of an opinion to the human nature when establishing the powers given to the people. That is the error they needed to correct. In addition, from the Articles of Confederation, the government was limited in power and couldn’t do very much against the overwhelming “mobocracy” as Shay’s Rebellion had shown. A solution presented by James Madison, Father of the Constitution, was written in newspaper articles favoring the adoption of the Constitution, known as the Federalist Papers, “In Federalist Paper #10, James Madison argued that representative government was needed to maintain peace in a society ridden by factional disputes. These disputes came from "the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society." The problem, he said, was how to control the factional struggles that came from inequalities in wealth. Minority factions could be controlled, he said, by the principle that decisions would be by vote of the majority.”(Howard Zinn, pg.96) In one Federalist Paper written by James Madison, Federalist Paper# 10, he claimed that in a society where many groups of people belonging in different factions disputed with one another, a representative government was essential to keep the peace of these disputes. More importantly, the Constitution provided an Executive and Judicial Branch to keep the power balanced between the three branches of government. The fear of...
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...Federalist Papers #10 Thesis: In the Federalist Papers #10, James Madison argues that the United States needs a stronger central government than that of the one outlined in the Articles of Confederation in order to ensure that the country will be safe from the violence of factions. Evidence: James Madison evidently supports his thesis by explaining the problem with the government summarized in the Articles of Confederation as well as by focusing on the need for a powerful primary leadership within the states. Due to the fact that the United Stated had recently separated itself from the tyranny of Great Britain, the Articles of Confederation was created to portray a government that is too weak to be practical. Madison states that there...
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...The First Party System: Why Thomas Jefferson was Responsible American History to 1877 Thomas Jefferson is responsible for dividing the Federalist party of the late 1700s and creating what is known today as the first party system. Thomas Jefferson, who supported a small national government and individual rights, changed American politics by advocating rights of small planters and western farmers to divide the nation once united behind Federalist ideals. By dividing the once united Federalist party into two separate groups, he was able to gain the support needed to take the office of the President away from the Federalist party. This feat was more than a challenge for Jefferson and would shape the structure of American political parties forever. (1) In 1788, George Washington was the first President of the United States and he chose two men with contrasting views on what the fate of the United States should be as part of his advisory board. Thomas Jefferson was chosen by Washington as the head of Department of State. Jefferson was a Virginian and diplomat, known for his views on small national government and representing the small planters and western farmers of America. George Washington then chose Alexander Hamilton as his secretary of the Treasury. Born and raised in the Caribbean, he worked for Washington as his aid during the revolutionary war and was a lawyer. Hamilton was known for his views on a strong national government. He favored merchants and financiers...
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...James Madison was born March 16, 1751, Belle Grove too a large family that was very wealthy , Port Conway and grew up in Orange county. James madison was the founding father of the United States and the fourth American president and one of the many Americas important political philosophers serving in office from 1809 to 1817. ANd for writing much of the U.S constitution and the entire bill of rights. Madison was considered shy, soft-spoken, shrill, and very intellectual. Growing up james became very sick and unhealthy, but he was so interested and determined too his studies too even worry about his sickness. Madison entered politics when he was 25 as a delegate in virginia's state legislature,at this time it was 1776 the start of the american revolution,...
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...Although the idea that all men are created equal and possess certain inviolable rights was not a novel thought, the American Founders and the Declaration of Independence reinvigorated in the minds of the American colonists that tyrannical and unjust government that encroached on one’s unalienable rights was worthy to be cast out. In that sense, the Declaration of Independence generates two fundamental arguments: that all men are equally born with a set of unalienable rights, “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” and that government essentially serves as the fences instituted by its people to protect these rights. However, compared to the sheer gravity of these statements, the Founders do not employ words of great magnitude to convince their audience; rather, they simply state that their arguments of equality and just governance to be simply “self-evident.” Consequently, the underlying principle of the Declaration remains the Founders’ recognition of the unbreakable relationship between the natural rights of man and the functions and requirements of a just government. The Declaration defines a just government as one that prioritizes the protection of its people and their rights. Additionally, a just government only exists through the subsequent earning of trust and consent of its citizens through becoming the reliable protector of their rights to Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness. Although all men are “by nature, all free, and independent” (Second Treatise Chapter...
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...Georgeana Trevino October 30, 2015 POLS 2301 05 US & Texas Government I Dr. Dongkyu Kim Critical Review of Federalist Papers Summary: James Madison's Paper #10 was preceded by Hamilton's Paper #9, which also discusses the fighting and the rebelling of the factions against the Union. Debatably the most famous of the Federalist papers, Madison discusses the menace of factions, faction-development, commonness with others that everyone has and why the enforcement of an authoritative government or a dictatorship would reject our right to liberty. Madison further says that a larger republic would be necessary to transform into a representative government that would allow the people themselves to vote for who is elected. Madison is leaning toward keeping the interest of the citizens who voted the person in power to reduce the factions problem. Also, the indirect representation would ensure the election of the best man. Analysis: James Madison was devoted to the principles of a republic and liberty, you can see this throughout his paper and in the specific arguments he brings up. The first argument that he brings up is about the inseparability of factions and liberty. He suggests that the government should not be concentrated on trying to prevent the causes of faction, but just control its effects. He states that in order to remove the causes that excite the development of factions you must either destroy the liberty that is essential for political life, and he states that...
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...Allen, Jefferson, Rush, Madison, and Warren see the most important political ideology for the American Resolution was republicanism. Even though it took a long time to be accepted that the American Government is a republic, few have asserted that republicanism was the political ideology behind the American Revolution. The legacies of the American Revolution is for the defending the revolution against the British to secure independence and to set forth an ethical character for a new Republic. Most importantly, they all envisioned an equal society and individual freedom through the American Revolution. Americans achieved American Revolution from a sincere patriotism. For example, Richard Allen who became the founding pastor of the Bethel African...
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...in place. The Articles of Confederation led to the Constitution of the United States. Although similar in some aspects, very different in others. The articles had many weaknesses that were changed in the Constitution. There were many compromises made between the states in order to effectively draft the Constitution. Roger Sherman’s Plan kept the Constitutional Convention together which was later known as the Great Compromise. The fight for the Constitution had just begun and the ratification processes needed to take place. Even with some states being in favor of the Constitution it would take time to get the nine states needed to complete this process. The states in favor would called themselves The Federalist and those opposed were called the Anti-Federalist. The Federalist set out to change the mind of the remaining states with a series of letters that were written to newspapers. The Articles of Confederation were used as a base for the Constitution. The ideas from the Articles of Confederation were used in the writing of the Constitution. Both the Articles and the Constitution established “federal” systems of multiple sovereigns whose continued existence was constitutionally guaranteed. Despite the fact that both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution established federal systems, there were certain fundamental differences between the two systems. The Articles of Confederation gave states the power of federal government whereas the Constitution derived its authority...
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