Paper10

Delba Almonte During the years 1787 to 1788, while the Constitution was being ratified; a series of essays were issue targeted mainly to the state of New York advocating the ratification of the Constitution. This series consisted of eighty-five essays, and those essays were called The Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; but were written under the pseudonym “Publius." One of the most famous federalist papers written is The Federalist Paper number ten.  Federalist Paper number ten was written by James Madison, and is one of the most highly regarded political papers written. Federalist Paper number ten is also one of the most controversial since it states that it is virtually impossible to keep all opposing groups, which consist of liberals and conservatives at peace. James Madison calls these groups "factions," and the only way to keep all opposing groups happy would be to get rid of the people’s liberty or give every citizen the same opinions, passions, and interests, which is impractical. And if it comes to the extent of the need to get every citizens to agree on an idea, destroying liberty is a "cure worse then the disease itself.” These "faction" or rival groups will always be at odds as long as we live, because of the simple fact that it is the natural way of man, "factions" are inevitable. Factions are inevitable for many reasons. These reasons vary from trivial situations to the unequal distribution of land, the location of that land, the capability of another human being and etcetera. In these cases different types of governments would not resolve the issue. In the case of democracy, citizens would easily be able to voice out there opinions and be heard. But a democracy would fail because all citizens would have direct participation in the government. The direct participation would not work because of the numerous amounts of people in this vast country; a democracy would also be a clear danger. So in the United States the most convenient form of government would be a republic. In a republic the government is placed at the hands of delegates, which are elected by the people, and can be extended over this large country. Also a republic would refine and filter the citizen’s decisions, and would help our nation pick the most reasonable and desired choice. The main objective of Federalist paper number ten is to demonstrate that the only way to keep all factions at peace would be to destroy liberty or keep everyone homogenized, which according to Madison is impractical. Also a democratic nation would fail due to human nature, since humans at time do not think clearly and sometimes are driven by undesirable passion. A republic would help keep almost everyone happy since it makes a favor on the larger group. The Anti-federalists argued that a republic could work for a small state but, not for the vast union; a republic would fail. A republic would fail for the United States since the point of views of states are different depending on their location, products, and the amount of territory it possesses. Both Anti-federalists and Federalists had valid points. But Federalist had the most valid point. In a republic ideas and choices would be made after carefully thought over, refined, and filtered. As humans, we are driven by passion, emotions, and circumstances of life. So it is more convenient to pick and choose what is more suitable for all citizens, as a whole. A democracy can not provide that security. Today our republic helps us choose our president, senator, governors, an etcetera. The republic has helped this country attempt to do things in the best interest of its people, and try to follow the ideas of popular sovereignty. As demonstrated in our past presidential election; where Barack Obama was elected President of the United States of America.
 * Historical Background **
 * Main Objective and Strongest Argument **
 * Anti-Federalist Argument **
 * Validity of Arguments **
 * Related Issues Today **