MADISON FEDERALIST 51-CHECKS & BALANCES

Madison Federalist 51: Checks & Balances

Madison Federalist 51: Checks & Balances

James Madison begins his famous federalist paper by explaining that the purpose of this essay is to help the readers understand how the structure of the proposed government makes liberty possible. Each branch should be, for the most part, in Madison's opinion, independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But, the framers recognized certain practical difficulties in making every office elective. In particular, the judicial branch would suffer because the average person is not aware of the qualifications judges should possess. Judges should have great ability, but also be free of political pressures. Since federal judges are appointed for life, their thinking will not be influenced by the president who appoints them, or the senators whose consent the president will seek.

Madison furthers, the members of each branch should not be too dependent on the members of the other two branches in the determination of their salaries. The best security against a gradual concentration of power in any one branch is to provide constitutional safeguards that would make such concentration difficult. The constitutional rights of all must check one man's personal interests and ambitions. We may not like to admit that men abuse power, but the very need for government itself proves they do, "if men were angels, no government would be necessary." Unfortunately, all men are imperfect, the rulers and the ruled. Consequently, the great problem in framing a government is that the government must be able to control the people, but equally important, must be forced to control itself. The dependence of the government on the will of the people is undoubtedly the best control, but experience teaches that other controls are necessary.

During those hot months in the summer of 1787, the founding fathers had a problem. They had to create a government that not only ensured the well-being of its people but also to fairly represent them without corruption. Therefore, they divided the main governmental powers into three branches, each independent of the other. However, to prevent one from becoming too strong, each branch had to have checks over the others. While this violates the key principle of keeping each branch separate, it is a necessity that the American government could not be without.

First, the founding fathers found it absolutely necessary to separate the powers of the government, both from the failed Articles of Confederation and from the English monarchy they were breaking away from. The Articles of Confederation, while a landmark document in terms of progression of the representative democracy, had major flaws. The Articles provided for no branch of the central government to enforce the laws, nor was there a national court to interpret them. The congress could make laws and raise an army, but couldn't force any ...