Federalist Paper 10 by James Madison

Federalist Paper 10

Madison begins perhaps the most famous of the Federalist papers by stating that one of the strongest arguments in favor of the Constitution is the fact that it establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions. The possibility of an oppressive majority to be the greatest danger in a political society such as ours was Madison's main concern. Federalist#10 is one of the most important Federalist Papers and is essential to our understanding of the framer's vision for the country and fears about the dangers of factions.

Madison defines that factions are groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions. Although these factions are at odds with each other, they frequently work against the public interests, and infringe upon the rights of others. Because of the nature of man, such groups are inevitable. Moreover, in a free society, they are unavoidable, because they result from the different interests and opinions that arise from persons differently situated, especially with respect to the ownership of property.

Republic or Democracy

Madison wrote Federalist#10 in response to Brutus' attack on the proposed constitution on October 18, 1787. Brutus argues that a republic would not work in a country as large as the United States since its citizens are so diverse. Such diversity would "retard the operations of government" as a multitude of opinions would "clash." To Brutus, a republic can only succeed in a small, homogenous society. Madison turns the argument on Brutus by pointing out that in actuality large republics have more of a chance at finding success than small in that there is less likelihood of the government devolving into a tyranny. Madison sees factions as being the most dangerous force to liberty and democracy in general. If any one faction gains too much power, then a tyranny would be the end product.

Yet as Madison points out, "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency." Rather than destroy the liberty needed for factions to exist, or foisting upon every citizen the same opinions, another method to contain the ill effects of factions, Madison argues that factions should be controlled and allowed to exist; factions are not only essential to a republic but also natural and therefore unavoidable. While a variety of factions exist, Madison points out that the strongest factions are those dealing with economics. As such, Madison advocates a large, commercial republic to control the ill effects of factions: large in that the more factions exist, the less likelihood any one factions will gain absolute power as the factions will continually form and re-form temporary coalitions; commercial in that the individual ...