The Federalists

                                               James Madison - Federalist No. 10
          It could never be more truly said than of the first remedy, that it was worse than the disease. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency. The second expedient is as impracticable as the first would be unwise. As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves. The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties.
          Like Hamilton, Madison was a strong proponent of federalism and played a central role in creating the U.S. constitution. The federalists were people that favored a strong central government, feared too much power in the hands of the masses, and strongly supported the U.S. Constitution. In federalist No. 9, Hamilton had written about the destructive role of factions in breaking apart the republic and now Madison continues by answering the question on how to eliminate the negative effects of faction. He defines factions as groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions but on the other hand infringe on the rights of other citizens and therefore works against the interests of the community.Madison states “The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man” so the cure is to control factions’ effects. He makes an argument on how this is not possible in a pure democracy but possible in a republic. With pure democracy he means a system in which every citizen votes directly for laws, and with republic he intends a society in which citizens vote for an elite of representatives who then vote for laws. He indicates that the voice of the people pronounced by a body of representatives is more conformable to the interest of the community, since again, common people’s decisions are affected by their self-interest.
            James Madison was educated and brilliant. He believed that the Articles of Confederation was in adequate to protect the new republic from foreign attack or domestic turmoil. Although he believed that the people should be able to govern themselves in some way, at the same time if people govern themselves than governments have and will soon be reduced into dictatorships, like Hitler and Kim Jong-il.