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Federalist No. 51: Difference between revisions
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| '''''<big>TO WHAT expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places. Without presuming to undertake a full development of this important idea, I will hazard a few general observations, which may perhaps place it in a clearer light, and enable us to form a more correct judgment of the principles and structure of the government planned by the convention.</big>''''' | | '''''<big>TO WHAT expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places. Without presuming to undertake a full development of this important idea, I will hazard a few general observations, which may perhaps place it in a clearer light, and enable us to form a more correct judgment of the principles and structure of the government planned by the convention.</big>''''' | ||
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== How to structure the separation of powers? == | |||
Federalist 51 considers the reasons and effects of the concept of "separation of powers." The idea has existed since the ancient world, especially Rome, whose constitution (form of government) had clear separations of power. Medieval European monarchies shared distinct powers with the Catholic Church, a source of conflict that led to the Protestant Reformation and the English Reformation (Henry VIII's declaration of independence from papal authority). | |||
Into the Age of Enlightenment, European thinkers considered ways and reasons to protect the rights of the people, which they considered "natural", or inherent, and not-given or provided by governments. In his work, "The Spirit of the Laws" (1748) the French thinker Montesquieu most clearly articulated the theory of "separation of powers." Montesquieu envisioned a government of distinct powers and roles, consisting in its "administrative" forms of an executive, legislature, and judiciary, with each to hold distinct and balanced powers that were also inter-dependent so that no single branch could act fully independently of the others. Importantly, each branch must only be able to exercise powers for its own responsibility. | |||
Here, Madison explains why the proposed Constitution creates three branches of government and how each shall "keep each other in their proper places" (which we call checks and balances) . He proposes that there is a theoretical reason for it, which he will discuss in "a few general observations." | |||
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