The Political Theory of a Compound Republic

The nature and form of the Federal Government has changed significantly in the time since the design of the U .S . Constitution . In defense of that document , political theorists Alexander Hamilton , John Jay and James Madison wrote a series of editorials in various colonial newss . Those works together are known as the Federalist s . The Federalist s highlight several characteristics of the government as they understood it would be under the Constitution (Ostrom , 1987 Modern government bears little resemblance to the imaginings of these theorists , yet the underlying principles that they have

outlined in the Federalists still remain in some form . Some of these principles include separation of powers , checks and balances , and an independent judiciary (Hamilton , 1788 ) Although these notions still exist , they lack the force in government that the founders intended (Ostrom , 1987

The separation of powers into what Hamilton described as distinct departments ' is one area that has seen changes from the time of the ratification of the constitution (Hamilton , 1788 ) The founders envisioned a compound republic consisting of a confederation of quasi-independent states unified for mutual wellbeing and protection under a single federal government (Ostrom , 1987 ) The constitution is careful to delineate the specific powers of the federal government , and through the tenth amendment to the Constitution , reserve all other powers to the states (Hamilton , 1788 ) This concept of state sovereignty was put to the test early and often in the history of the republic (Ostrom , 1987 ) From the time that Adams convinced congress to pass...