10th Federalist

Introductory note: liberty was the public's primary concern & thus the concern which publius needed to address (Hamilton, Madison, & Jay); liberty which had been violated by the distant and centralized British government. For further information, read the full text.

What is the worry of the 10th Federalist?

i.e. What does it fear will control government?

The violence and mischiefs of FACTION, which perhaps have two aspects, the second being the key concern:

"The instability, injustice and confusion introduced in the public councils, have in truth been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished." i.e. contentiousness

"(T)hat the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties; and that measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice, and the rights of the minor party; but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." i.e. stable majority

 What is human nature? Is it to be trusted, or feared?

Is it capable of good?

(For further information, this is addressed even more explicitly in the 51st Federalist)

Serious ("sinister") evils, against which the public interest must be protected:

"The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man." "(T)he most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property."

"No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity." "(Y)et what are many of the most important acts of legislation but so many judicial determinations?"

"It is in vain to say that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clashing interests and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm."

but there is good in individuals, which must be sought and applied in order to achieve to the public good.

There are "enlightened statesmen," "fit characters," etc., upon whose selection and whose works the success of the government depends.

 What does Publius (Madison) mean by Faction? "(A) number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."

"There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.

 Can the causes of faction be removed? Why? "There are again two methods of removing the causes 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 interests."

"The second expedient is as impracticable as the first would be unwise."

 Can the effects of faction be controlled? How? "If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote."

"When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens. To secure the public good and private rights against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed."

"By what means is this object attainable? Evidently by one of two only. Either the existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time must be prevented, or the majority, having such coexistent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression. If the impulse and the opportunity be suffered to coincide, we well know that neither moral nor religious motives can be relied on as an adequate control."

 Is liberty best protected by small nations or large nations? Why? Larger is better because:

Provides a larger population pool from which to choose "fit characters" as the public's representatives.

The representatives are chosen by a greater number of citizens and hence it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practise with success the vicious arts, by which elections are too often carried."

"Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens."

"(I)f such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other."

"(F)actious leaders may kindle a flame with their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States."
 
 

 What is a republic? Why is it useful? It is not a pure democracy. "(A) pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction."

"A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking."

"The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens and greater sphere of country over which the latter may be extended."

 Concluding note: Madison's genius in the 10th Federalist is to turn around the attack based upon the concerns for liberty. Where liberty was being used to argue for local democracies and a weak national government, Madison finds that minority rights will be best protected by a republican government encompassing a large population and extended geographic area.