Federalist 9 Analysis

Within the federalist papers, there is discussion of improvements in political science in republican government. Publius first discusses improvements in political science in regards to an extended republic in Federalist 9, then builds on his arguments in Federalist 10 and 51. In Federalist 9, there are five specific improvements to the science of politics that are discussed. These improvements are separation of powers, legislative checks and balances, an independent judiciary, representation, and, perhaps most importantly, the idea of an extended republic. Federalist 9 also speaks heavily of how these advances of political science reduce the natural imperfections of republican government. Voting on legislation is done via representation, in
This prevents people’s immediate passions and reactions from ruling directly, as well as preventing the voters from voting poorly on legislation. In regards to the independent judiciary, it prevents the people from both creating and interpreting the laws, and prevents the general population from judging themselves. Publius continues with the imperfections of republican government and how they can be lessened in Federalist 10.
Federalist 10 focuses on the idea of factions in republican government. Factions are an imperfection of government, where a group of individuals is united by some passion or interest. To alleviate the problems of factions, there are two solutions. The first is to remove the causes of factions, one of which is to destroy liberty. Destroying liberty is worse than the problem of factions itself, as it destroys political life. One could also just give everyone the exact same opinions, interests and passions, but that is impractical or impossible. The second solution to the problem of factions is to control its effects. The way to control the effects of factions, Publius argues, is through republican
These are expanded upon in Federalist 10 and 51, and greatly affect both republican government, and the Congress. These advances control the amount of power within the government and separate it, and reduce the impact of factions within government, all while giving representation to the people. The extended republic also affects congress, and helps lessen the impact of factions, as well as imperfections with republican government in general. Overall, these advances hold true to the virtues of republican government, while reducing the impact of imperfections of republican