Justin's Federalist 51 paradox

Madison’s Paradox

The paradox that James Madison proposed in Federalist 51 is that men are imperfect, and therefore government will also be imperfect. People can be bias. People tend to seek for self preservation instead of bettering the whole.  The question is how do we create a just and fair government and a more perfect union when no one is perfect? The answer to this paradox is in the Constitution. First of all, the power is derived from the people. Government is for the people, of the people, and by the people. James Madison went on to describe auxiliary precautions to provide a just form of government. The most important auxiliary precaution is the Constitution itself. It specifically limits government by giving each branch of government its enumerated powers. This limits the government from becoming tyrannical.

           The second auxiliary precaution is the division of powers. This means that we have two different governments that control each other. We have a national government which is separate from state governments. There are specific rights in the Constitution only given to the national government and things like the 10^th Amendment which only gives powers to the States.  This separation of powers creates a check and balance between the national and state governments. Another form of checks and balances which helps provide a more perfect union is the separation of powers. This is different than the dual security of federalism. The auxiliary precaution of separation of powers is dividing governing power into three different and distinct branches. The Legislative branch in both National and State government is further divided into two distinct houses; the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House consists of officials who represent the people based on the population of an area. The Senate represents each state fairly. The Legislative needed to be further divided because it has a very crucial job of creating laws. There is also the Executive branch of government which enforces and executes the laws created by the legislature. Furthermore, we have the judicial branch which interprets the laws. The separation of these powers makes it so that no one branch of government has more power than the others. The three separate entities create a system of checks and balances which are clearly outlined The U.S. Constitution. In Federalist 51, Madison explained the importance of separating powers. “The separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government, which to a certain extent is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation of liberty…” We could not have liberty without separate powers.

          Another auxiliary precaution that Madison described through the Federalist Papers is that the people have sovereignty. We can exercise this sovereignty by using the 15^th Amendment of the Constitution. We have the right to vote for our governmental candidates. However, some officials are elected indirectly or are appointed. For example, citizens vote for the candidate who will best represent the citizens in the lower house every two years. In the upper house, senators are elected by state legislators every six years. The president of the Executive branch is elected by the Electoral College. The president appoints members to his cabinet, and he appoints members of the Judicial branch. This system of voting and electing is a very important auxiliary precaution. Elections are at different times, and different officials serve different terms in office. This all comes together to assure just decisions are made and that people become fairly represented. This republic form of government insures checks and a balance of government which Madison described in the Federalist papers.

          In Federalist 10, it describes the dangers of factions. With our continental sized republic, there will always be a difference of opinions and factions. This great amount of diversity is a form of auxiliary precaution which protects from one group becoming too powerful. Also the Constitution provides security for the minorities through the Bill of Rights and through other articles in the Constitution.

 

          Federalist 51 closely relates to our constitutional system. It eloquently describes how the separation of powers is vital for liberty and how division of government needs to be present for government to operate correctly. “Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” People need to be checked and have limits and rules because no one is perfect. Federalist 51 describes the importance of separate departments working independently. The U.S. Constitution has many of the aspects and ideas that are described in Federalist 51. The Constitution solves the problem stated by Madison in the structure of our Republic government and in the above mentioned information.Without such, we would not have liberty.