Paper51

__ Summary:   __ How can we maintain the separation of power among the different branches of government written about in the Constitution? Each branch of government should be independent of the others. It is important that each branch should have a will of its own and each department’s members should have little to do with the appointment of other’s members. If this principle was followed, the people would be the ones to select the president, the legislators, and the judges. However, this would complicate things because people may not know the exact qualifications and necessities of the appointed. One of the best ways to keep one branch from becoming too powerful is to give the heads of each department no reason to fear the encroachment of the others. The government’s controls must be made to restrict men and his natural desire for power. The dependence of the government on the will of the people is undoubtedly the best control, but experience teaches that other controls are necessary. Dividing the powers equally may be a bit difficult. In the republican form of government, the Legislative branch seems to be the most powerful. The remedy is to further split this branch into two smaller ones, the House of Representatives and the Senate. There must also be a different method of election in each of the smaller branches. It is important to protect the people from the tyranny of a ruler, but it is also necessary to guard a people from themselves. It is evident that people will have different views on things. The majority will threaten the rights of the minority. There are two methods to solve this problem. The first is to create a group will independent of the majority’s view. However, determining a will for the community is almost impossible and is impractical with all the different views that people have. This method works best in governments that have self-appointed or hereditary leaders. These leaders are usually susceptible to tyranny and imposing unjust personal view upon the people. The second method is shown the United Stated where all authority comes from the people. The society is divided into many classes with many different views within the classes who hold different interests. This will prevent one group from dominating and threatening the minorities. The purpose of the government is to maintain justice within society. If the government allows or even encourages strong groups to combine together against the weak, liberty will be lost and anarchy will be the result. Anarchy is a deterrent for the strong groups and will cause them to seek protection for themselves and to also help the weak. Self-government flourishes in large and greatly diverse countries. Some countries may be too large for self-government but the plans proposed are enough to make the United States a successful country. __ Main Objective: __ Publius’ main objective in this paper is to explain how to maintain a balance of the power of government and also the power of the people. __ Strongest Arguments:  __ They use the fear of tyranny and anarchy to support their ideals for checks and balances. Most of the Americans during this time, both Federalists and Anti-Federalists, feared the reign of a tyrannical ruler, having just overthrown the tyrannical British rule. They also argued about the balance between majority and minority. Showing their support for the minority’s views and rights may have captivated the audiences of those who had interests that were of the minority. They bring up the natural ambitions and desires of men. At that time, the large majority of the citizens were Christians. They believed in the evils of human nature and desires. This was used to strengthen their arguments. __ Countering opposing arguments:   __ They left little room for the Anti-Federalists to oppose this paper. It was not biased therefore creating very little disagreement. The federalist may have argued that the whole system of Separation of Powers was giving too much power to the central government saying that one cannot check and balance ones-self. However, this would be refuted by the evidence given that the system was made for the people and against tyranny of one power. The whole system of Checks and Balances is to keep one single branch from becoming too powerful therefore stifling any sort of Anti-Federalist opposition. __ Assess the validity: __ Most of the paper is quite redundant and repetitive. However, the arguments were quite accurate and irrefutable. Their view on encroachment and how to prevent it from occurring is truthful. The first method to protect the minority’s rights from the majority is unethical at best but a successful method of preventing oppression. Otherwise, the arguments are on the mark. History does not show many political inconsistencies in this aspect. __ Present-day relation: __ These arguments are quite well established in the present day. The system of checks and balances is, for the most part stable. It is hard to define the present situation concerning the majority versus the minority. Publius declared that the republic government of the United States creates equality in the legislative branch. On the contrary, there are grey areas in this argument. In the present year of 2009, many are arguing that the Democratic Party is becoming too influential in the Senate because of its numbers. Publius assures that the legislative branch is made equal to the other two branches because of the two separate sub-branches and the separate methods by which their members are elected. Time will reveal whether or not Publius was correct or whether there may be a gap in his argument.
 * __ Federalist Paper 51: __**__ The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances __