Federalist Essays #10 & 51

Why does the American form of government work?

Federalist 10:   The American form of government works because in order to remove factions there are only two options, both of which are either not effective, not realistic, or too harsh to be implemented.  Either take away liberty all together so that no one can voice their opinion or giving every citizen identical opinions, interests, and ideas.  The first would be worse than the original problem and the second would not be possible ( "The second expedient is as impracticable as the first would be unwise,").  The only solution is not to remove, but to control the effects of faction ("The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man,").  In a popular government, people would always rule in their favor and represent only their interests and skew his judgement. ("No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity").  Therefore, the effects would be better controlled by a representative government, each faction would have a candidate that expresses their union's interests and opinions.  This would allow the factions as a whole to check power through each other by balancing their power with each other while representing many(" It will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free,"). The American form of government works because it is mainly a representative government, so citizens are classified on faction ideas for balancing out power and reducing faction violence.  However, also included is a popular government that gives minor individual say on the government that doesn't necessarily have to agree with their faction's.

Federalist 51:  In order to function properly the government should have separate branches that check the power of the others, and it can do so by having a "will of its own" and acting in the interest of each section.  Thereby, no one branch can ever get too powerful as to dominate because they all represent different factors and duties of the government.  The departments should not be dependent on each other and instead have "personal motives to resist encroachments of others".  One branch's goals should balance out another's based on goals and means of achieving that goal ("Ambition must be made to counteract ambition").In addition to branches checking each other, the individual can watch over the branches and protest inconsistencies with the law ("Each may be a check on the other; that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights.  Because the branches may not always have public interest as a priority when organizing plans, the individual can act as a watch over the branches so that the government is an equal representation of all citizens.  The American government works because of the checks and balances of different branches and individuals because of the different ideas the branches represent and the unique ideas that the individual can support.

In total, the United States works because it allows both individuals and groups to make decisions that benefit the majority of the population.  One interest never gains ultimate and tyrannical power because of the separate interests of others.  Representative government allows all voices to be heard in a controlled and peaceful environment that represents bigger ideology and sectors of government instead of allowing the many conflicts of individual perspective on the way the government should be run.