Essay Number 2: Examining Factions within Federalist 10
Federalist 10 is often considered one of the most highly regarded piece of political writings ever put to paper. Federalist 10 addresses the question of how to guard against factions and their propensity to cause a rift in a republic. Written by James Madison working under the pseudonym Publius, Federalist 10 was published on November 22, 1787. In response to Federalist 10 the Anti-Federalists would release two pieces of writing combating Madison’s ideas in the form of Cato number 3 and Brutus I. In his writings Madison does not call for a removal of factions, but rather finding a means to control them. In my opinion I find the side of the Federalists as more compelling than the arguments of the Anti-Federalists. Madison starts of his essay by talking about the dangers of a faction and the threat it poses to a government. Madison describes factions as the following: “By a faction, I understand 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” …show more content…
In a large republic there are men of large fortunes, and consequently of less moderation; there are trusts too great to be placed in any single subject; he has interest of his own; he soon begins to think that he may be happy, great and glorious, by oppressing his fellow citizens; and that he may raise himself to grandeur on the ruins of his country. In a large republic, the public good is sacrificed to a thousand views; it is subordinate to exceptions, and depends on accidents. In a small one, the interest of the public is easier perceived, better understood, and more within the reach of every citizen… (Montesquieu spirit of laws, chap. xvi. vol. I [book
Federalist 10 is often considered one of the most highly regarded piece of political writings ever put to paper. Federalist 10 addresses the question of how to guard against factions and their propensity to cause a rift in a republic. Written by James Madison working under the pseudonym Publius, Federalist 10 was published on November 22, 1787. In response to Federalist 10 the Anti-Federalists would release two pieces of writing combating Madison’s ideas in the form of Cato number 3 and Brutus I. In his writings Madison does not call for a removal of factions, but rather finding a means to control them. In my opinion I find the side of the Federalists as more compelling than the arguments of the Anti-Federalists. Madison starts of his essay by talking about the dangers of a faction and the threat it poses to a government. Madison describes factions as the following: “By a faction, I understand 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” …show more content…
In a large republic there are men of large fortunes, and consequently of less moderation; there are trusts too great to be placed in any single subject; he has interest of his own; he soon begins to think that he may be happy, great and glorious, by oppressing his fellow citizens; and that he may raise himself to grandeur on the ruins of his country. In a large republic, the public good is sacrificed to a thousand views; it is subordinate to exceptions, and depends on accidents. In a small one, the interest of the public is easier perceived, better understood, and more within the reach of every citizen… (Montesquieu spirit of laws, chap. xvi. vol. I [book