The Role that Logic Plays in the Constitution

Humans use logic in their everyday lives, whether they are deciding important things or using logic for simple decisions. However, the logic used in our government is a lot more complicated than everyday decision making. Using James Madison’s essays, Federalist No. 10 and Federalist No. 51, Americans can have a better understanding of how logic was and is used in our government.

James Madison was the fourth president of the United States and is one of the founding fathers of the United States. He is an important figure in the history of the United States. He, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, wrote the federalist papers in 1787 and 1788 to encourage the conformation of the constitution (Wikipedia). One of the most influential of the federalist papers was Federalist No. 10, written by James Madison.

Federalist No. 10 discusses faction, liberty and the process of government to keep the surplus of faction low. James Madison describes a faction as “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, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community” (Federalist No. 10). Madison takes the argument in Federalist No. 10 that faction and liberty are inseparable. This is logic in our government; instead of trying to eliminate the cause of factions; the government can control the effects of faction (Federalist No. 10). Madison states two solutions to eliminating the cause 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 same interest” (Federalis...

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...ons. “It is no less certain than it is important, notwithstanding the contrary opinions which have been entertained, that the larger the society, provided it lie within a practical sphere, the more duly capable it will be of self-government” (Federalist No. 51).

James Madison gives Americans example after example of how logic is used in our government. Although it is more complicated than our everyday logic, he gives Americans a better understanding of the important decisions made to better our government.

Works Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison#

James Madison: The Federalist No. 10, The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued); Nov. 1787

James Madison: The Federalist No. 51, The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments; Feb. 1788