Federalist paper No.10. Madison’s philosophy of how to secure and maintain power in a large republic adds support to the anti-Federalists arguments and fears surrounding the undemocratic nature of the Constitution. Madison was a vigorous opponent of pure democracy who feared that the uneducated masses would tyrannize the minority (a minority of which he was included) with their majority rule if given any significant amount of democratic powers. In his Federalist No.10, Madison describes the “dangerous vice” of political factions resulting from a government terrorized by an over-bearing majority (Kammen 145). Although Madison points out that he does not support the taking of liberty, he nonetheless agrees that, “Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire (Kammen 146).” Madison’s theory was that through uniting the states under a strong central government, the power of destructive political factions would be limited: “the majority, having such co-existent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression (Kammen 149).” Madison further discusses his theory, stating, “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 (Kammen 151).” The natural result of expansion (and this was clear to Madison) was the weakening of the power of the majority and, most importantly, the deterioration of political representation. What the Constitution created was a political order that made it difficult for people to come together through common interests by making communication and concerted action difficult. Madison’s and other founder’s fear of the majority manifested itself in the limiting of the people’s political power in a calculated an...
