Federalist No. 10

1. What is a faction? A number of citizens who are united and motivated by some common impulse of passion or interest, undesirable to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent interests of the community.
Why are factions a problem in government? Usually the factions are going against what the government has done or the laws they have made. The factions cause trouble for government in a society.
2. What are the two methods for curing the mischiefs of faction? Removing its causes and by controlling its effects.
What are the two methods for removing the causes of faction? Destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence and by giving to every citizen the same opinions, same passions, and same interests.
3. What does Madison argue that the causes of faction cannot be removed? Wishing to remove liberty is not possible and without it, faction instantly expires. It would be foolish to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction. And for the second, as ling as the reason of man continues to be imperfect, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.
4. Why does pure democracy have no cure for the mischiefs of faction? A pure democracy, as in a society made up of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can not have a cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion will almost always be agreed on by a majority of the group from the communication from the government.
Is Madison arguing against a system of majority rule? He thinks it can be a bad thing, but he agrees with it somewhat.
Why or why not? He agrees with it because it is in the interest of the public good and the rights of the citizens. He recommends that we adopt this way of government to mankind.
5. To what extent will enlightened leadership solve the problems of factions? According to Madison, one leader can't bring change to an entire state, let alone a country. They may be able to light a fire within the souls of the people near them, but it can't be so far dispersed that it will bring huge change.
Why does Madison have more trust in the leaders than the people? The leaders know what they want, while the people are looking for something to follow.
6. Why does a republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a pure democracy? The Union is over the States composing it.
Why does a large republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a small republic? The fewer the parties or interests, the greater chance there is for one of those groups to carry out their plan of domination. If there is a larger variety of parties or interests, it is less likely that the majority of them will have the same cause to diminish the rights of other citizens.


I agree with almost everything that Madison said in The Federalist No. 10. He was a very wise man, and ahead of his times. He knew they needed to break away from faction because it would eventually damage the new nation.

Were the Founding Fathers Democratic Reformers?

According to Zinn, the Founding Fathers were not democratic reformers. I agree with that opinion. The fifty-five men who contributed to the Constitution were mostly men of wealth and conservative minded. Slaves, indentured servant, women, and men without property were not represented in the Constitution. The Constitution was "coincidentally" very beneficial to the Founding Fathers. They favored a strong central government and wanted to make barriers in the Constitution as strong as they could to protect themselves against the people lower in social standards than them. The Convention was unanimous in believing that democratic government was to be favored and fought. What i have read makes me believe that the Founding Fathers were not democratic reformers.

Slavery--First Clip

In 1619, the Dutch brought nineteen Africans to Virginia. They had converted to Christianity, and under English Law, that means that they could not be enslaved. There were, however, indentured servants. According to historians, and what I learned from this clip, there was not a guarantee that slavery would come to be in America, it evolved. By 1650, only three percent of Virginians were African. Although, a shift was soon going to take place.
Around 1650, it was more economically safe to buy an indentured servant because of the life expectancy; it was only five years back then. In the late 1600s (1680), the colonists had built up immunity to diseases and improved their way of life, that equated to a life expectancy growth to twenty years old. If you bought a slave, you could get around twenty years of service for 1000 pounds. Plus, if the slave you bought had any children, you owned them too. While if you got an indentured servant, it would cost more.
Buying the slave would be much more profitable to the colonists. That is why, according to one theory, that indentured servitude evolved into slavery.