Madison 's State Of Mind

According to the passage, “James Madison Defends the Constitution (1788)”, “The Constitutional debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were often heated. Here, James Madison responds to Patrick Henry’s concerns about the power of the federal government to directly tax the people.” James Madison wanted to directly tax the people of the country, but Patrick Henry was not going down without fight to hopefully end it. They also did not agree on the procedure to change the things in the Constitution. Madison thought that each state should just get one vote, but

I very much agree with most of what Madison argues in his papers. But I feel it’s important to examine the counter-argument to Madison’s point. With the benefit of hindsight, we are able to see how national power has grown, and that was a definite concern of people who were in favor of smaller state governments. As a result, the arguments Madison makes seem less valid when observing today’s government structure. While the federalist system may have many checks and balances to keep one

In the year of 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to write the constitution. Tyranny, a type of government with an absolute ruler, was a fear. Central and State governments are Madison’s compound of government. The two governments are federalism and federalism guards against federalism by giving each government equal powers (Document A). James Madison wanted to make the three (legislative, executive, and judicial) branches to have equal power.

(James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, Document A). Madison is referring to a federalism, where powers are divided between the Central and state governments. In the finalized constitution that resulted, the Central government is able to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, declare wars, print and coin money, and set up post offices. The states governments were permitted to set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools, and pass marriage and divorce laws, and regulate in-state businesses. Both are able to borrow money, set up courts, and make and enforce laws. The delicate balance of distribution of powers prevents either the state or central governments from taking too much control. While the national government deals with foreign and national domestic relations, the state governments deal with almost all local matters, and they both have a few shared powers, resulting in a comfortable balance. (Document A)

James Madison’s words in the Federalist Papers were “The different governments will each control each other, at the same time will be controlled by itself.” (Doc. A). By separating the central and state government, it created a security to the rights of each group, both forms of government had a separate job, but they also both watched over one another. This way guards from tyranny because it keeps the power completely separated between central and state government but also keeping the power balanced at the same time. Some powers given to the central government include: conducting foreign relations, providing an army and navy, and printing money, Meanwhile, some powers given to the states include: the setup of local governments, ability to hold elections, and regulating in-state business (Doc. A). Federalism was the framers’ first way to prevent tyranny in the constitution, while keeping the two groups of central and state government from obtaining to much

According to James Madison in the Federalist Paper number fifty-one, Madison stated that there will be powers given to the states and to the central government and powers given that both will share (Doc. A). The central government can regulate trade, conduct foreign relations and declare war, while the states can set up local governments, hold elections and establish schools. All together, they can both tax, borrow money and make laws. This way, the state and the central government will be able to be controlled by itself but also control each other at the same time. Federalism created a compromise between the federalists and the anti-federalists, who opposed the Constitution. It did so by adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution that listed specific prohibitions on governmental power. As a result, individuals and states are protected against what might be too much government power even up until

Some problems were involved throughout the steps that the Founding Fathers took to create a new country. The Articles of Confederation was created because the thirteen states were separate from each other and needed a central form of a government to help resolve their differences. Many states rejected the Articles because they didn’t want to risk having an overpowering government similar to the monarchy of England. An example of this fear about creating a new oppressive government was that the smaller states would be in favor of the Articles on all states due to their fewer resources and less decision making power than the larger states. The Articles gave smaller states more power in situations such as how to raise money for war and to settle debts for war. The central government that the Articles of Confederation created turned out to be very weak, and

James Madison, George Mason, and John Adams wrote about their thoughts and opinions towards the constitution. Madison believed that each state needed their own government, and not be tied up by the federal government, this is a disadvantage because at the time states were not obeying the federal laws and if states were running themselves this country would not be the way it is right now. Adam’s thoughts were an advantage because he wanted a bicameral government with two houses and a branch for the courts. He wanted this so the higher classes could not power over the lower classes. In Mason’s objectives towards the constitution he mentions it didn’t clearly declare our rights and things stated weren’t properly written and wanted them to be

It has been known that James Madison had worried about a tyranny forming in the United States while creating a new constitution. The Constitution produced from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of 1787, was constructed to improve and fix the weaknesses of the previous rulebook, the Articles of Confederation. Fifty-five delegates, a few from each state excluding Rhode Island, supported this concern and devotion to creating a more stable government. As stated in the background essay, James Madison and the delegates at the convention were challenged to write a Constitution that was “strong enough to hold the states and the people together without letting one person, or group, or branch, or level of government gain too

This in turn was allowing the Federalistic government to garner the majority of the American population and was leading to them being a strong, influential power over the people. Madison did not support these actions and expressed his dislike, demonstrating that he is an anti-federalist (Doc.

During the writing of the Constitution, the determination to not let one specific being control the new government was a must for success(Madison Excerpt 1). As stated by James Madison, tyranny was everyone’s main concern when establishing the layout of the United States government, but not all writers agreed on the thoughts of others. Once compromise was made, the Constitution developed many statements that guard the United States from tyranny by enforcing federalism, dividing powers, checking and keeping balance, and giving small states a voice when associated with larger states.

Although James Madison despised factions as explained in Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison believed factions were an essential part of government, that needed to be revised through careful governmental intervention. Madison was careful to ensure his vision for the country 's future would protect the given right to liberty; therefore he found in the Constitution multiple outlets for these factions to dissolve. However, the government itself was corrupt so the three branches had to be separated to prevent tyranny and be successful in stopping the dangerous factions. Therefore, in Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51, Madison would outline his goals for creating a more cohesive country.

With the power in one place instead of the states, it would easily be abused. In the text Madison said this would not be the case because of the constitution. It would establish a government that was powerful enough to keep control. However, it would not have enough to take over unobstructed. Madison argued that the government's power did not exist because it declared it did. There was no reason to concerned about a central government that had more powerful than each individual state. This was because the powers it had come from what the individual states gave it and therefore came from the people. The ones deciding on taxation would not be men from only a few bloodlines. The men would be from the same places the ones in charge of the individual states were according to Madison. People like Patrick Henry would not have to worry. The government would be fair because the same kind of men would be making the decisions as

Even with a representative government, its separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances, Madison also favored the implementation of a written Constitution, detailing the limits of the federal government’s power. The written Constitution of the United States created a paradigm shift in the way the world viewed Constitutions. It created a tangible means whereby citizens could hold the government accountable. While the Constitution of the United States accomplished many goals in regards to establishing the role of the federal government, it left much open to

Madison concludes that self-government flourishes in a large country containing many different groups. Some countries are too large for self-government, but the proposed plan modifies the federal principle enough to make self-government both possible and practical in the Untied States.