Federalist 51 Summary

Summary of Federalist 51
Federalist 51 is an essay written by James Madison in support of the creation of the United States Constitution which would serve as the replacement for the faulty Articles of Confederation. Madison along with several other federalists wrote a series of anonymous essays that eventually became to be known as the Federalist Papers. The purpose of these essays was to inform the public about the suggested structure for the new government that would protect our natural rights. Madison’s paper Federalist 51 outlines a description of the foundation of the new government where each branch of the government would have its own unique and separate powers exclusive to that branch and the power to check and balance the other branches.

The separation of these powers would allow for the conservation of our personal liberties, and that each branch would have its own independent will and have little influence on the appointment of officials in other branches. This method if strictly followed would allow for the people to have a direct role in the appointment of officials in the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. However times often require that there must be exceptions to the rules.

Exceptions to these rules are often required because of a lack of knowledge of the skills and expertise need to serve in government positions. For example the branches should strive to be independent from the other two branches. With each branch seeking to follow their own agenda rather than being controlled by others as they serve their sentences. Madison then proceeds to address the significant need of constitutional safeguards to prevent the gradual concentration of power. For example “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of man must be connected with the constitutional rights.” This provides us protection from those in the government and those who abuse their power because since we aren’t angels we will abuse power if given the chance and opportunity to. One of the greatest problems the government will face is controlling those they govern and themselves. Thus dependence on the peoples will is the government’s main source of power with other precautions. These precautions include the division of power within each branch to prevent any one branch from becoming unstoppable. However it isn’t possible to ensure that all branches receive equal power of defense. In republican governments, the legislative branch

tends to be the most powerful. So it is because of this reason the legislative branch is divided into two parts the House and Senate. Each with a unique form of election to their respective branch and role. Additional safeguards against abuse may also be necessary in a republic with a single government. Madison lists two different ways to secure the rights of the people. The first is for the government to divides it power. The second is to guard against oppression and protect people from injustices whether they are in the majority or the minority. As each class had different interests it isn’t unnatural for the classes to join together for power. When this occurs the rights of minority are often threatened. Madison notes that there are just two ways we can avoid evil. The first method is create a will independent of the majority and is composed of society the second way is to dissolve the majority by making more categories for people to be sorted into. In addition to these views for protecting the countries citizens if a government allows for the strong to join together against the minority anarchy will occur. If this were to happen anarchy would reign as people seek to maintain some type of order in amidst of the chaos. Lastly Madison states that self-government promotes republican cause and as a result will bring the most success to a large country like America, which is home to numerous diverse groups of people. Thus the plan proposed by the Federalist makes this the best and most practical solution for America.