Search for Free 150,000+ Essays

Find more results for this search now!
CLICK the BUTTON to the RIGHT!

Need a Brand New Custom Essay Now?  click here

The Federalist Papers

Uploaded by vijayB69 on Oct 26, 2011

Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison wrote a series of essays, 85 in all, between October 1787 and the following May. The three wanted to convince New Yorkers to replace the Articles of Confederation with the new U.S. Constitution. Each essay (or “paper”) discusses some point in support of a federal government.
In Federalist Paper No. 9, Alexander Hamilton argues that a strong central government is the surest safeguard a people has against “domestic faction and insurrection.” He cites as examples Greece and Italy, both of which were comprised of small city-states, and both of which suffered continuous unrest and upheaval. He then quotes Montesquieu’s description of the advantages of a centralized government to bolster his own argument: “It is a kind of assemblage of societies that constitute a new one, capable of increasing, by means of new associations, till they arrive to such a degree of power as to be able to provide for the security of the united body.” He finishes by assuring the states that the establishment of a central federal government does not mean the abolition of government at the state level.
In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison continues the argument begun by Hamilton in No. 9, but he places more emphasis on the idea of factions and factionalism. He states that the distrust of government and the instability and unrest sweeping the young nation is due largely to factionalism: “These [problems] must be chiefly, if not wholly, effects of the unsteadiness and injustice with which a factious spirit has tainted our public administrations.” He suggests that in order to curb the evils of factionalism (factionalism is the division of people into groups with common interests, which then wrangle with one another: Democrats vs. Republicans for example) one can either remove its causes or curb its effects.
Madison says there are two ways to remove the causes of factionalism: destroy the liberty in which it flourishes, or make sure that everyone thinks exactly the same way. Neither is a viable option. Instead, he seeks to limit the effects of factionalism by establishing a republican form of government. (Republican with a small “r”). This is not a democracy, in which everyone has an equal voice, but a representative government, in which a smaller number of people represent the whole, working together for...

Sign In Now to Read Entire Essay

Not a Member?   Create Your FREE Account »

Comments / Reviews

read full essay >>

Already a Member?   Login Now >

This essay and THOUSANDS of
other essays are FREE at eCheat.

Uploaded by:   vijayB69

Date:   10/26/2011

Category:   Politics

Length:   6 pages (1,452 words)

Views:   1939

Report this Essay Save Essay
Professionally written essays on this topic:

The Federalist Papers

View more professionally written essays on this topic »