Federalist 51’s main argument is that the government must have proper checks and balances between the different departments. It further adds that the independence of the executive, legislature, and judiciary will not survive for an extended period if there are no constitutional means to hinder one department from encroaching on the other (Interactive Constitution). The Federalist states that people fall into different groups and categories of majority and minority, and he aimed to avoid any one group dominating over the other. Thus, this study will evaluate why Federalist 51 arguments are essential in understanding Madison’s work.
The first Federalist argument is based on explaining self-government: that it does not involve every person governing, but ensuring that no single entity independent of the society governs the government. According to Federalist 51, the different powers of government must be exercised independently to ensure that the society is guarded against oppressors (Knipprath). However, it is not only the rulers who oppress the people; sometimes, one part of the society may lack justice in the hands of the other. For instance, when the majority of society has a common interest, the minority with divergent views may suffer. Madison’s arguments are based on the premise that “Justice is the end of government” because if the world were just, there would not be a need for government (Learning). Thus, Madison uses the Federalist 51 argument to describe what he calls a state of nature: stronger people in society oppress weaker people. However, the stronger people are not so superior because they are likely to experience the power of the weaker when they call for justice and try to liberate themselves.
Madison states that in every society, freedom is achieved once the majority starts to oppress the minority. On the contrary, the minority must start seeking justice only because there is freedom, and they are entitled to do that (Learning). The result of such a government is much uncertain, such that even the majority who caused the misrule may have to call for a government that protects the interests of both the majority and minority. Protection, in this case, refers to having a society that does not have to go by the interests of the majority. Thus, the minority will have to rule for them to protect the interests of the majority (Interactive Constitution). This happens in most hereditary or self-appointed governments, such as UK and Rwanda. In this case, the rulers are independent of the majority and thus, do not have to bow to people’s pressure to protect their interests (Magstadt 24). This shows that even in self-governing, the majority will not always have a say over the stronger minority, although their actions will be impactful.
Madison’s second argument is that Republican governments can only maintain themselves when there is a federal system like that in America. According to Federalist 51, when there is a separation of powers in the government, a federal system is critical for the government departments to be sustainable (Drexler). Otherwise, the Republican government is entitled to fail and, in most cases, does fail. The only way government failure can be avoided is by having a well-constructed federal system. When there is a federal system, it is possible to create a vast country with a wide range of diversity in interests and many factious majorities. In such a large nation with diverse groups, it is difficult for the majority to develop principles other than those that focus on the general good (Knipprath). This is because they will be improbable and impractical, so the legislature will not pass them.
The third idea from Federalist 51 is that the larger the society, the more capable to self-govern. As Madison states, in his text, “to provide for the security of the [minority], by introducing into the government, a will not be dependent on the [majority]: or, in other words, a will independent of the society itself”(Drexler). This implies that a government can only prevail in a place free from the majority. Thus, for the government to be free, it has to rely on a large republican nation to avoid the political logic that leads to hereditary or authoritarian rule (Magstadt 28). In such a nation, the government will rely on the society without any participation, creating what Madison calls “a will independent of the society itself” (Drexler). Although the majority will not always be just, they are unlikely to be unjust in most cases. Thus, when there is a large nation, although the majority’s will is independent of the government, there will be more likeliness of having a just society.
Madison’s work is related to having a just government that does not oppress the minority; thus, Federalist 51 provides good guidelines for a just government. It gives three important facts related to self-rule and a just society. The first one is that self-rule does not imply individual leadership, but that no independent entity from the society should be allowed in government. The second argument is that the federal government is essential in a republican government. Thirdly, a large society helps to have social justice by ensuring that there are many majorities with different interests; hence none is dominant.
Works Cited
Drexler, Ken. “Research guides: Federalist papers: primary documents in American history: Federalist Nos. 51-60.” Guides.loc.gov, 2022.
Interactive Constitution. “James Madison, Ratification, and the Federalist Papers | the National Constitution Center.” Constitutioncenter.org, 2021.
Knipprath, Joerg. “Happy Birthday, James Madison! March 16, 1751 – Federalist Papers 51 & 53: How the American people hold Congress accountable – Constituting America.” Constitutingamerica.org, 2018.
Learning, Marco. “The federalist papers explained.” Marco Learning, 2021.
Magstadt, Thomas M. “Understanding politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues.” Google Books, Cengage Learning, 2020, pp. 1–624.