POLITICAL SCIENCE PAPER 2
Political Science Paper
James Madison, one of Americas founding fathers, dawned the title for his many
contributions to the United States early government. His experiences varied over a number of
specialties within the realm of political thought. Not only was he the fourth president of the
United States, he was also coined the “father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting
and promoting the long lasting document. This essay will address the influence that The
Federalist Papers had in the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Along with, the motivations
outlined in Federalist 10, behind Madisons idea that factions were inevitable. And the reason for
his focus on the concept of “tyranny of the majority.”
Published in May of 1788, The Federalist Papers were a collection of articles contributed
by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. These 85 essays argued in support of
ratification of a constitution. Not only this, but “The Federalist Papers are considered one of the
most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution”
(Drexler, 2019). This was because the authors not only discussed issues surrounding the
constitution, but also conveyed thoughts about other general problems in politics at the time.
Federalist 10, shares James Madisons perspective regarding The Union as a Safeguard
Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. He specifically addresses the people of the State of
New York. The overall theme of this essay poses “how to reconcile citizens with interests
contrary to the rights of others to inimical to the interest of the community as a whole” (Epstein,
2007). In this essay he discusses the concept “tyranny of the majority.” By this idea, Madison
means that if given the opportunity, the majority group would place their own interests above the
interests of a minority group without consideration for the welfare or rights of the minority. To
combat this possibility, Madison though the creation of factions would be beneficial to avoid a
POLITICAL SCIENCE PAPER 3
unbalanced level of power. In Federalist 10, Madison notes, “whatever may have been the just
complaints of unequal laws, and sectional partialities, under the Majority Government of the U.
S. it may be confidently observed that the abuses have been less frequent and less palpable than
those which disfigured the administrations of the State Governments. whilst all the effective
powers of sovereignty were separately exercised by them” (..) Ultimately, he is not arguing that
what the majority wants is automatically the wisest and most just, but that it beats the
alternatives. With this brought to question the idea of “tyranny of the majority.” In an article by
Masterclass they examine how the U.S. created a system to limit the likelihood. The framers of
the Constitution established a government with checks and balances which prevents any branch
of government from becoming more powerful than the others. Along with that, this system
“made it more difficult for Congress to easily ignore the needs of minority groups by requiring
the support of a supermajority for major decisions. They also added the Bill of Rights to the
Constitution to protect various individual rights of those in minority groups” (MasterClass,
2022). And later the Electoral College would be added to prevent those running for office from
disregarding the needs of less populous states in favor of higher populated ones.
When beginning to understand the theories and ideas of James Madison, it would help for
one to first access the influences that inspired them. The modern thinkers who impacted some of
what we can learn from Madison are men such as, Thomas Jefferson. The two shared similar
political views. They both believed that the power of the government deserved to be delegated to
the people who were being governed. We see many correlations between the two when analyzing
Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance and Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Madison’s
document references “unalienable rights” which was the major theme of the Declaration of
Independence. Many of the ideas discussed in the two documents correlate which leads us to
POLITICAL SCIENCE PAPER 5
References
Crossway. (2019).BEsv new christian's Bible: English standard version containing the old and
new testaments, personal reference bible.B
Drexler, K. (n.d.).BResearch guides: Federalist papers: Primary documents in American history:
Introduction. Introduction - Federalist Papers: Primary Documents in American History -
Research Guides at Library of Congress. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from
https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papersB
Epstein, D. F. (2007).BThe political theory of the Federalist. University of Chicago Press.B
Hamilton, A., Madison, J., & Jay, J. (2009). Federalist no. 10.BThe Federalist Papers, 49–54.
https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230102019_6B
MasterClass. (n.d.).BTyranny of the majority explained - 2023. MasterClass. Retrieved April 15,
2023, from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tyranny-of-the-majority-explainedB
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
