James Madison and the Federalist Papers

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On September 17, 1787, the Philadelphia Convention sent their new constitution to the states for ratification. The Federalists highly approved of the Constitution because it allowed for a more central and powerful government that was previously undermined under the Articles of Confederation. The Anti-Federalists, however, didn’t want a powerful central government, but, instead, powerful state governments; in response to the Constitution, many Anti-Federalists began writing essays and creating pamphlets as a means of arguing against it. In retaliation to the Anti-Federalists attempt at getting states to not ratify the Constitution, many Federalists developed a group of essays known as the Federalist Papers, which argued for the ratification of the new law system.

James Madison, who glorified the benefits of the system of government outlined in the Constitution, wrote the tenth essay in the Federalist Papers. In his essay, Madison advocated a republic system of government instead of a democracy because it “promises the cure for which [they are] seeking.” According to Madison, in a republic, unlike in a democracy, a “small number of citizens [are] elected by the rest.” In other words, one difference between a republic and a democracy is the fact that a republic is based on representation, while a democracy is based on the rule of the majority (mob rule). Madison favors the republic form of government because representation (republic) recognized the inalienable rights of all individuals, while democracy is only concerned with the views or needs of the majority. Therefore, in Madison’s mind, a democracy is an unsuitable government, especially for the United States; Madison thought democracy is just handing power over to the ...

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James Madison was one of the most influential people in American history, let alone the early years of the United States. When the Constitution was first sent to the states for ratification, James Madison wrote a couple of essays advocating the new system of law as a means of producing a republic where everyone’s voices are expressed through representatives. In his essays, he promotes Constitution, while at the same time, promoting a republican form of government instead of a democracy. He makes an appeal to people by stating the reasons why a republic is a good choice for government, and why a democracy is a bad choice. However, is his essay, which classifies republicanism as a virtuous type of government, just a ploy to get people to agree with the ratification of the Constitution, because if they don’t they are considered bad people?

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