By mid-June, it was clear that the convention was drafting a new plan of government around these issues-a constitution. The principal questions before the convention became whether the states should remain sovereign, whether sovereignty should be transferred to the national government, or whether a settlement should rest somewhere in between. Madison believed that the problem was not with the Articles, but rather the state legislatures, and so the solution was not to fix the articles but to restrain the excesses of the states. Ī national convention was called for May 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. In this view, Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising in Massachusetts in 1786, was simply one, albeit extreme, example of "democratic excess" in the aftermath of the War. Like Washington, Madison felt the revolution had not resolved the social problems that had triggered it, and the excesses ascribed to the King were now being repeated by the state legislatures. Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and others feared a break-up of the union and national bankruptcy. Congress had no power to tax, and as a result, was not able to pay debts resulting from the Revolution. These were, in essence, a military alliance between sovereign nations adopted to better fight the Revolutionary War. Prior to the Constitution, the thirteen states were bound together by the Articles of Confederation. In his view, this would make it "more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried." Madison saw the federal Constitution as providing for a "happy combination" of a republic and a purer democracy, with "the great and aggregate interests being referred to the national, the local and particular to the State legislatures" resulting in a decentralized governmental structure. 10 shows an explicit rejection by the Founding Fathers of the principles of direct democracy and factionalism, and argue that Madison suggests that a representative republic is more effective against partisanship and factionalism. The whole series is cited by scholars and jurists as an authoritative interpretation and explication of the meaning of the Constitution. 9 and is titled " The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection". 10 continues a theme begun in Federalist No. He thus questions how to guard against those dangers. Madison saw factions as inevitable due to the nature of man-that is, as long as people hold differing opinions, have differing amounts of wealth and own differing amounts of property, they will continue to form alliances with people who are most similar to them and they will sometimes work against the public interest and infringe upon the rights of others. 10 addresses the question of how to reconcile citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or inimical to the interests of the community as a whole. 10 is among the most highly regarded of all American political writings. It was first published in The Daily Advertiser (New York) on November 22, 1787, under the name "Publius". 10 is an essay written by James Madison as the tenth of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays initiated by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |