Factions: Harmful or Helpful?

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Your opinion on certain public policies might vary from mine or from your neighbors, but who’s to say that’s not acceptable? According to the Dictionary Reference, “The Federalist Papers were a compilation of eighty-five essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay persuading New York voters to adopt the constitution.” (Publishing & Turner, 1995) The constitution being the supreme law of the land. Many Americans were still wary of a strong central government back in the late 1780’s, so these articles were written to give an explanation of the reasoning, unavoidability, and necessity of each article in the Constitution. Federalist Paper number 10 is one of importance because it explores the problem of factions fighting and tearing a country apart. Factions according to James Madison’s Federalist 10 article are, “By factions…a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” (Roland, 1998)
Since the late 1700’s, an era where the formation of political parties began, people have come together based upon similar views or opinions, otherwise known in the political world as factions. Factions have created political parties, factions have also created freedom. Madison claimed that there were two methods of relieving the mischiefs of factions; removing its causes or controlling its effects. “There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the s...

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...ist No. 10: The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued). Retrieved from Constitution Society: http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
Roland, J. (1998, October 18). The Federalist No. 51, The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments. Retrieved from Constition Society: http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm
George Washington: "Farewell Address," September 19, 1796. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=65539.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Washington's Farewell Address. 105th Congress, 2d sess., 1998. S. Doc.105-22.
U.S. Department of State: Officer of the Historian. Washington’s Farewell Address. Milestones: 1784-1800. Dr. Steven Randolph. http://history.state.gov/about

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