The Federalist No. 48 Analysis

To me the major challenge that the Founding Fathers needed to reconcile was how to make 13 individual sovereign states into one functioning unit without infringing on the States right to govern their own citizens. James Madison, a staunch supporter of federalism, wrote in his The Federalist No. 10 “that 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 (Dolbeare & Cummings, 2010, p. 93).” This is the basis for his argument that a large centralized federal government would be preferable to multiple small governments each possessing expanded powers, supported by a weaker centralized government available for oversight. With a strong central government …show more content…
One of the main apprehensions of the general public was that their representatives would be the social elite and a new aristocracy would rise and suppress the will of the regular peoples. Samuel Adams in particular showed much apprehension to that perceived inevitability when considering the adoption of the new constitution (Dolbeare & Cummings, 2010, p. 124). An excerpt from Anti-Federalist No. 48 written by Leonidas (a pseudonym), used incendiary language to drive this point. “This being the beginning of American freedom, it is very clear the ending will be slavery, for it cannot be denied that this constitution is, in its first principles, highly and dangerously oligarchical; and it is everywhere agreed, that a government administered by a few, is, of all governments, the worst (Leonidas, …show more content…
Through amendments to the Constitution they ensured individual’s rights and constructed a three branch system with check and balances to ensure that neither the branches nor the government as a whole would have the capability to overstep its powers. One of the main ways in which they were able to do this, was by ensuring all the states had ample representation in the legislative branch. The legislative branch, charged with making laws, processing impeachments, enacting treaties, had the perception of being the strongest branch and therefore most dangerous to states’ rights. The constitution authorized each state a certain amount of representatives in the House of Representatives based on the size of its population. These representatives would make up the national portion of the government, representing the good will of the people of their respective states. To ensure equality of each state regardless of populations, each state would elect two senators to the Senate. These officials will represent the states in the federal aspect of government (Dolbeare & Cummings, 2010, pp. 80,98). Another important concession to the states’ citizens is their given right to directly choose and elect the members of both legislative