The Complete Idiot's Guide to: Federalist 10

s ’ t o i d I e t e l p 0 1 m o t s C i l e h a T r e d e F : o t e d i Gu

Created By: Alyssa Alegre Tag Pruitt

â€œâ€Śthe smaller the number of individuals composing a majority, and the smaller the compass within which they are placed, the more easily will they concert and execute their plans of oppression. Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens[.]â€?

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FACTIONS? WHAT ARE THEY? ARE THEY GOOD? ARE THEY BAD? WHO’S JAMES MADISON? James Madison, renowned framer of the U.S. Constitution, opens Federalist 10 with an explanation on what a “factious spirit” is, going on the say that the famed “Tyranny of the Majority” is a danger to any well constructed union. He explains that this factious spirit would lead to divisions in politics, leaving a majority faction which would be a threat to the common good.

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A FACTION EXPLAINED AND HOW THEY’RE DIFFICULT TO DIFFUSE

Madison believes a faction is a group that is united by some “common impulse of passion.” Then, in a very long-winded way, Madison says that although factions ruin just about everything, they’re nearly impossible to avoid when lady liberty is involved.

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FACTIONS ARE BAD BUT IN THE END ARE BASICALLY INEVITABLE Madison, in his third point, goes on to say, yet again, that factions are bad, but a government needs to make sure they’re formation is possible in a “pure democracy.” Madison thought that factions were like the angry mobs of politics.

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POLITICAL PARTIES ARE NOT A PARTY

Madison’s fourth point is that class separation breeds factions, and forming into groups of common interest is human nature. Therefore, political parties will always exist.

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FACTIONS WOULD CREATE A BIASED MAJORITY THAT WOULD ENDANGER INTEGRITY IN GOVERNMENT. Madison explains how important it is that all needs are accounted for, therefore, a biased majority would not account for the minority. In fact, Madison believes that the Tyranny of the Majority makes it its goal to outnumber the minority as much as possible, creating an uneven split in government.

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AGAIN, TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY WILL ENDANGER THE COMMON GOOD. This integral point expands on Madison’s idea that the majority will abandon the common good for its authority, destroying the idea of individual freedom, the whole point this “America” thing was supposed to be founded on.

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C

faction #1 A

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CONTROL PANEL 7

NOT EVERYTHING IS UNCONTROLLABLE, FACTIONS INCLUDED

Madison points out that there are two ways to prevent the detrimental effects of factions: deprive the group of why they formed or keep the faction under control.

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THE CONS OF BEING A PURE DEMOCRACY He proceeds to argue that a pure democracy is a threat to minorities and the personal security of the people they govern.

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THE PERKS OF BEING PARTICIPATING IN A REPUBLIC After discussing politics for the majority of the essay, Madison shifts gears to the dominating pros of having a republic.

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10 THE PERKS OF BEING PARTICIPATING IN A REPUBLIC The size of the elector system must be controlled, with any distortions risking in the negative consequences with lack of representation.

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THE PAINS OF BEING A PURE DEMOCRACY A democratic government can ultimately lead to oppression, inspiring the creation of factions that can and may be able to take away the most basic human rights.

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THE RIGHT TO A RIGHTFUL REPRESENTATION All citizens have a right to the same representation as any other citizens, whether or not they are part of the majority. Either way, the country benefits from their vote.

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IN CONCLUSION, IT IS BLATENTLY OBVIOUS TO THE MOST SIMPLEMINDED PERSON THAT… Republicanism is a viable option to combat against the dangers of factions.

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