Federalism Dbq

The federalist papers written by James Madison, proposes logical suggestions for the creation of a government, that fits the need of the nation. Federalist paper 10 primarily concerns with the harmful effects of factions.(Madison James,”The federalist no.10” .1787, A21)A faction is a group with a distinct political interests.(Wilson, James Q. and Dilulio, John J. “the essentials American Government, institutions and policies”, 12th edition, page 32) Factions can be compromised by a majority or minority of people, aiming for a common goal. Hence, factions must be controlled, since the goal might be contrary to the interests of other people, thereby affecting their individual liberties. Factions cause instability in the government. There are
two possible solutions suggested in the federalist paper by Madison. This can be done by removing the causes or controlling the effects created by factions. It is mentioned that “liberty is to faction as air is to fire”. The above solutions serve to be rather impractical because each individual opinions, tend to be different from one another, and under no circumstances would everyone have the same opinion.
The distribution of land can be the one of the major reasons for the opinion differences during the time, because it puts people into different classes. Factions are an inherent part of human nature. Madison suggested the existence of a large republic over smaller democratic groups was the best possible solution against fractions. In smaller groups, differences in public opinions would be lesser. Hence, the formation of a tyrannical majority would be easier compared to the larger republic. Individuals in a larger republic would be entitled to different opinions, so an individual interest would not gain much prominence. This would serve to be the proper way to function a democratic government. Hence a republic government, (according to Madison) would be the best possible solution against factions, which are unavoidable due to the conflicting public opinions. Individual interests can corrupt judgment. Legislative acts are the decisions emphasizing the rights of a group of people. These acts were influenced, and are still being influenced by factions at
times.( Madison James,”The federalist no.10” .1787, A21,A22,A23,A24,A25) Even in a republic, there could be majority factions.
They could be prevented by demolishing the negative interests and passions of the group. The majority not be able to perform tyrannical actions. It is the right of the government to protect the liberties of its' citizens. If the desire and opportunity coincide then neither religious nor moral values will control the plans of oppression. Hence, a purely democratic party will not be the solution against factions. The majority opinions shall be favored, there will be oppressions of the rights of minorities. In addition to this, the size of such a party would be limited. A larger republican government can have a greater territory, electing delegates protecting the common interest of the people, thereby preventing the influence of factions. In this form of representative democracy, people have a wider range of options regarding the selection of candidates. There would be a greater number of political parties. So it will would be hard for one party to overcome the others, and impose oppressive plans. Hence, according to Madison, a larger republic government would be a better form of government, which would minimize the effects of a national government. The formation of a national government is strongly suggested here, instead of the 13 states making decisions of their own. The federalist paper 10, thus has a strong important influence in the concept of our national federal government.( Madison
James,”The federalist no.10” .1787, A21,A22,A23,A24,A25) The federalist paper 51 proposes the idea for the separation of the different powers of the government. The judicial, legislative, and executive branches of the government should be independent of each other for the better functioning of the government. This would ensure the better functioning of the government. Each department should have a function of its' own. Madison believed that this separation of powers increased the checks on the government. However in the republican form of government, as suggested in the federalist paper 10 would predominate the other branches. Madison ensures further security, by splitting the legislative branch at the state, and national levels. This division of power between the state, and national government, would further protect the rights and interests of the minorities. There would be a number of political parties, forming a wide array of interests within a group. Hence, the rights of the minorities would be protected.(Madison James,”The federalist no.51”.1788, A26,A27,A28,A29) The are many similarities shared by the two federalist papers. They both put suggestions for the formation of an alternative government realizing the harmful effects of factions. In a way, these federalist papers reflect ideas that would protect the individual liberties of American citizens. Madison talks about the harmful effects of factions, the separation of powers, and federalism in his papers. These differences in opinions in a way help in the formation of the government. At the same time individual liberties need to be respected. The United States of America is a republic government, in which the congress is split into the house of representatives and the senate. The separation of powers suggested in the federalist paper 51, has made a common fear that it makes the president too weak and insufficiently accountable. Hence, critics have suggested measures for reducing the separation of powers. Allowing the president to serve in the cabinet, allowing him to dissolve the congress, and call for special election are some of them. The congress had the most authority at the beginning, but later on, the president and the courts grew in power ensuring a proper check and control in the government. Hence the solutions suggested in the federalist paper 51 did not serve to be quite effective regarding this matter. ( Wilson, James Q. and Dilulio, John J. “the essentials American Government, institutions and policies”, 12th edition, chapter 2, page 42) The role of factions in the current American political context is quite debatable. The solutions in the federalist paper 10 has not been quite effective, considering the political power distribution in America. There are many advocacy groups that have a similar purpose. Various lobby groups, interest groups, and political groups influence public opinion. They form a vital part in the formation of political opinions. A majority opinion lies on the fact that American political system is framed by the pressures from wealthy capitalists, and bureaucrats. There are various news channels that are labeled as conservative and liberal favoring their respective political parties. These news media can influence the public opinion at a huge level. There are different view regarding the distribution of political parties that can be considered as factions. The very existence of class view, power elite view, bureaucratic view, and pluralist view show that factions still exist.( Wilson, James Q. and Dilulio, John J. “the essentials American Government, institutions and policies”, 12th edition, page 11) However, from this we can also deduce that no single political party has all the political power. It is widely distributed, and that was indeed a predicted quality as suggested by Madison in the federalist paper 10. Individual liberty is taken into primary consideration in the federalist papers. However there are some inevitable trade-offs in their implementation. The government can not can not give importance to every issue in the same manner. Special interest groups and lobbyists have influenced congress, the white house and more than 200 federal agencies. A total of thirteen billion dollars were spent by them since 1998. Special interest groups have hired almost plenty of former government officials to influence federal policies on sensitive issues like taxation, adoption, and welfare. Washington's lobbyists reported billing 2.4 billion dollars in 2003. They spent huge money lobbying and the amount is expected to raise even more over the years. Hence, these statistical results are evident proof that the America politicians and political system is getting corrupt due to the existence of these modern factions. The solutions suggested in the federal papers regarding factions have not obviously been much effective due to the influence of such interest groups in important decision making. ( Knott Alex, “The 'fourth branch' of government”,http://www.alternet.org/story/21702/) American federalism seemed to be rather perennial about half a century ago. Now the federal government makes important policies regarding the health care, homeland security and many other sensitive issues. There prevails a tension between the federal government and the state government at times. The predominant ways of resolving the tension comes from the federal courts, state constitutionalism is challenged to produce its' own account of its' relevance in an era of federal programs. With the post new deal growth of federal powers, the states are called on to implement federal programs to a greater extent. Before Roosevelt's new deal people did not expect the federal government to solve problem regarding economic security at the state level. With the post-New Deal growth of federal power, states have implemented more federal programs. In a variety of regulatory contexts considering health, environmental regulation, safety, to technology and transportation, Congress and federal regulators look to state and local governments to implement federal programs and regulatory goals. The federal government offers additional benefits for state or local compliance, providing funding for programs such as welfare, Medicaid, or public school standards and testing. States accept these voluntarily acquiescing to federal programs or regulatory standards that bump up against state constitutional restrictions. There has been times, where the separation of powers has been questionable. The conflicts between the allocation of the powers of the state mentioned in the constitution adds a question mark to the separation of power. This division of power is not specifically mentioned in the federalist papers, which is a huge drawback.( Rossi Jim. 2005.” Dual Constitutions and Constitutional Duels: Separation of Powers and State Implementation of Federally Inspired Regulatory Programs and Standards”. William and Mary Law review,Vol.46, http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5009445209 )

The federalist papers have influenced the framing of our political system to a huge extent. The federalist paper has strongly urged the existence of a representative government over a direct democracy. Our government is framed in such a manner. However, factions still exist in our political system in the form of special interest groups, and lobbyists. The separation of power between the three branch of governments is still causing debates at time. It has led to amendments that increased the power of the president and courts. However, the congress still remains in power , at large. The concept of federalism is being practiced, but the extent of the sharing of powers between the state and national government is debatable regarding the rights of individual states. The American political system has changed considerably, since the time the federalist papers were written. However, many fundamental aspects of our political system is still based on James Madison's federal papers.