Party Politics: An Analysis on Factions in American Government

A key issue raised by the Federalists in their campaign for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and by the Anti-Federalists in their campaign against it, was that of factions. In The Federalist No. 10, “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection,” James Madison defines the dangers of factions and elaborates on the effectiveness of a large, representative democracy in dealing with them. In Essay No. 3, the Anti-Federalist Cato argues that factions are necessary and we must preserve them in a large government if we are to prevent single individuals from corrupting the system. In modern America, we see the influence of factions – parties – growing daily, instigating rivalries and stalling political progress. Despite strong arguments from the Anti-Federalists, this modern evidence proves that factions do negatively impact the government when they are allowed too much power.

Factions, or parties, are described in The Federalist No. 10 as groups of citizens “united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest.” According to Madison, these human passions divide the public into competing parties that are “much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.” These parties often negatively impact the rights of other citizens as they pursue their own specialized goals, but it is “the nature of man” to create them. Thus, in order to protect the rights and voices of the people, a successful government must be committed to the regulation of these various factions. A pure (direct) democracy, argues Madison, cannot effectively do this because it offers every citizen a vote in serious public matters, and economic stratification alone prevents th...

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...esentatives – was sadly flawed. The congresspersons we have today more often act as a voice of their party (exactly what Madison wanted to avoid) than as a voice of their constituents. This creates instability, allows for a constant power struggle, and stalls progress. Because of this, I am inclined to agree wholeheartedly with Madison in his fear of factions but to depart from his views when it comes to how they should be handled. Though it is radical, I am in support of the Anti-Federalists when it comes to the size of the Union. Had America been just three nations (East, Central, West) or two (North and South), I believe party politics would be far less controversial than they are now simply because the interests of the people and congresspeople in those regions are much less diversified than the interests of the 300 million people that make up this huge nation.