When the founding fathers were writing the constitution, there was much debate as to how strong they would allow the central government to become. For the Anti-Federalists in particular, it was important that the Constitution ensured the oppression the Americans had experienced under British rule could not be repeated. The purpose of Madison writing Federalist No. 51 was to convince Anti-Federalists, particularly those concentrated in New York, that the constitution would prevent the government from becoming too strong. If it were not ensured that the three branches of government would be independent of one another, and that a checks and balances system would be in place, it would have been more difficult for the constitution to have been ratified.
