lodged in the hands of one body of men, than where the concurrence of separate and dissimilar bodies is required in every public act,” is a logical statement Madison makes within the Federalist Papers. Representatives are elected first to serve the interests of their constituents, but secondly to safeguard the well being of the nation as a whole. Most often when a representative or representative body attempts to obtain an unequal share of power, they are acting in direct violation of the general public good. By involving several distinct governing bodies in the decision-making process, evil ambitions are easier to squelch. Critics of the Federalist Papers draw upon the veto power of the President of the United States, the supposed representative of the entire nation, to prove errors in the Federalist system of “checks and balances”. In order to override a presidential veto, a two-thirds vote in congress is required. In essence, the president becomes more powerful than all the nation’s representatives as a two-thirds vote is extremely difficult to obtain. If the goal of the “checks and balance” system is to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a few, the presidential veto hardly accomplishes this goal. Although the president cannot create new law, his ability to prevent new law resembles the power held by a dictator. How democratic can one man’s vote be?The Federalists believed in a form of government that is not consistent with the textbook definition of “majority rules”. They believed in a modified version of democracy- a pragmatic type of democracy. They believed in a democracy which sometimes neglects the majority vote in order to ensure the stability of American government. They believed in a democracy which does not blindly put all trust within its elected officials. They believed in a democracy which nurtures the free soul of the American public. ...
