Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - American History Federalist 10 Federalist 10 Liberty. This word means many things to many people. There is no way to distinctly define the term without leaving someone's crucial point of view out of the equation. One person might say that anarchy would be the only way to have complete and utter freedom, while others would go as far as to believe a controlled communist government is the best route to achieving liberation. Factions (a group of people who agree on certain topics) are inevitable, due to the nature of man. As long as men hold different opinions, have different amounts of wealth, and own different amount of property, they will continue to fraternize with people who are most similar to them. In Federalist #10, James Madison summed up factions eloquently stating that “Liberty is faction, what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires.” The government created by the Constitution controls the damage caused by such factions. The likelihood that public office will be held by qualified men is greater in large countries because there will be more representative chosen by a greater number of citizens. Power is distributed in a checks and balance format, making it difficult for factions to completely take over. Madison’s views on faction are still relevant and exercised frequently even after 200 years have passed. James Madison’s most amazing political prediction, contained within the pages of Federalist 10, was that the United States being so large and having such a wide variety of interests could make a guarantee of fairness and constancy under the new constitution. The bigger the government, the less control factions are going to play in making decisions for the majority of the people. The only way to manage faction is to remove its causes and to control its effects. By removing its causes Madison believes that liberty will be destroyed, or that by giving every citizen the same opinions, passions, and interests, would be impossible because people can never all be the same. Madison wanted the United States to be a republic, a form of democracy in which power is vested in representatives, so there will be a greater number of citizens represented and we will also be able to have more control over the factions effects. In today’s society, we see many examples of James Madison’s explicit view on American political culture. Everyone in America, from the time that they have been born, has been placed into factions. Newborns are put into daycare facilities based on their parent’s income and parental beliefs. Students, throughout their entire academic career, have volunteered to become part of at least one faction. Some students stay after school for art club, French club, guitar club, or a select few even stay after for student council. The students select the student council members, by having fellow classmates’ sign the petition form that each individual member must get signed in order to become a representative. At the meetings, the student council might have enough money to only sponsor one after school activity, so they need to hear out each club and decide which one needs the money the worst. Although, some of the members of council are also members of the art club, that doesn't mean that the art club automatically gets the sponsorship. The council members want to get reelected the following year, so they are going to base their choice on what the people want, not their own personal bias. Liberty gives Americans their freedom. Although many people like to complain about our government and point out all of its bad qualities, most of the time legitimacy is never questioned. We feel very strongly in being able to conduct ourselves without the presence of the government in everything that we do. Now if this means electing rich while males into office, then so be it. James Madison knew that no matter who took office, that the general publics welfare would be a great deal of importance to the representative because he would need to get reelected for the following term and if not for that reason, just for the fact that he would have to answer to other people, checks and balances, for decisions that were made. Factions are sometimes biased, but the government that Madison set up through the constitution, allows us belong to different groups and still have our rights and beliefs protected. Bibliography: Word Count: 727
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