Political Thought

Classical Philosophers and federalist 10 and 51

The United States Constitution was not ratified without debate . There were many who felt that its provisions gave far too much power to a federal entity , and were concerned that the new government would become as distant and abusive as the British Monarchy from which they had just separated . In to convince critics of the merits of the new Constitution , its advocates , James Madison , John Jay and Alexander Hamilton , wrote anonymous letters of support to newss defending the Constitution 's philosophy and form . These defenses

, known collectively as The Federalist s ' offer a detailed look at the philosophy and thinking that caused the Constitution to be written as it was . These works emphasized the philosophical underpinnings of the theory of government suggested , and drew heavily on the work of earlier philosophers . From Plato to John Locke , the influence of these philosophers is clear within the Federalist s . Two of the better known s , Federalist 10 and 51 , written by James Madison , clearly express the ideals of the Enlightenment that underscore the provisions of the Constitution

Federalist number 10 focused its argument on the dangers of factionalism , and how government might be designed to minimize those effects without surrendering to the will of the unschooled mobs (Madison , 1788 [10] ) Madison argues in this that the downfall of popular government has it seed in factionalism (Madison , 1788 [10] ) He defines factions as those groups of citizens , numbering either in the minority or majority...