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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXIII Issue XVII February 15, 2016 The Federalist Papers: A Book Review By Forrest Brown A few weeks ago I read A Crisis in Civic Education, which is a report published in January 2016 by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). I was quite alarmed with the information that the ACTA reported. Data from recent surveys of over 1,100 U.S. colleges and universities shows that only a handful (18% or 198 of the 1,100) of these institutions require their students to take even one course in American history or U.S. government before they graduate. Also, in an annual survey given by the Newseum Institute, it was found that one-third of Americans could not name a single citizen’s right and forty-three percent could not name freedom of speech as one of those rights. Similarly, in 2010, the federally sponsored National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) civics test confirmed that there has been little improvement in civic knowledge of K-12 students. While nearly all 12th graders reported studying civics, only 24% scored at the “proficient” level or above. Thirty-six percent did not even reach a “basic” achievement level, indicating they were unable to describe the different forms of political governments available in present societies. So, what can we, the average U.S. citizen, do about this lack of civic and governmental understanding? One thing we can do is to educate ourselves by reading and discussing some of the historic literature from the founding era. One of the best books to start with is The Federalist Papers, a collection of eighty-five essays written in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius. These essays were written in support of the newly formed U.S. Constitution shortly after the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Each of the state legislative bodies from the 13 original states was in the process of reviewing the new constitution, as law required at least 9 of the 13 states to approve it in order for it to become the law of the land. We cannot review and discuss each of the 85 papers in this short article, but we can look at a few of the prominent ones in order to gain a better understanding of why The Federalist Papers were written and how they helped the 13 original states adopt the greatest constitution ever penned by the hand of man. Federalist Paper One was written by Alexander Hamilton in which he gives a general introduction for the whole series of essays, “You are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution . . . . I propose a series of papers . . . to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government.” He then outlines five principles and concepts that our newly proposed government must address: • The inefficiency of the current Articles of Confederation • The current disparity in power • The importance of and the call for a Union • The over-scrupulous jealousy and the danger to the rights of the people • The Union would be too large to be governed effectively with the current forms Knowing this, what is the application in today’s complex and multi-geopolitical environment? We must ask ourselves, are we in the same situation as our founding fathers whereas we need a new or modified government? Do some political leaders have too much power? Are new forms needed in our federal systems such as term limits for Congress and federal judges, mandatory military service, and a balanced federal budget? Mr. Hamilton opens the door for all to see and discover. In Federalist Papers Two, written by John Jay, the author postulates the idea that “Providence” or God has had a hand in bringing forth this new form of government. He says, “Providence has in a particular manner blessed it with a variety of soils and productions and watered it with innumerable streams for the delight and accommodation of its inhabitants . . . . Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestry, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established their general liberty and independence.” If anyone believes that our founding fathers were not religious in nature, John Jay puts this question to rest quickly with Federalist Papers Two. James Madison was the author of Federalist Papers Ten. His primary point in this letter is concerning factions—or what we call political parties. One of his most notable quotes from the essay is, “Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.” Mr. Madison, along with many other founding fathers, believed that factions or parties would cause great harm to our newly-formed government and time has proven that they were right. Madison also discusses the importance of the new judicial system. He wrote, “No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgement, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.” He essentially raised the concern of improper judges finding their way to the bench and then showing forth favoritisms and biases. In this paper Madison also looks at the relative size of the new republic and whether this will at some point be a matter of concern. He says, “The smaller the society, the fewer will be the distinct parties and interests composing it; the fewer the distinct parties and interests, the more frequently will a majority be found of the same party . . . [and] you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.” It is quite amazing that Madison and the other two authors of The Federalist Papers had such insight into problems and issues that did not exist in their time, but which they saw would later become huge concerns. In James Madison’s second Federalist paper, number fourteen, he begins by listing some of the privileges that come from living in a free country. He writes, “We have seen the necessity of the Union as our bulwark against foreign danger, as the conservator of peace among ourselves, as the guardian of our commerce and other common interests, as the only substitute for those military establishments which have subverted the liberties of the old world, and as the proper antidote for the diseases of faction, which has proved fatal to other popular governments.” The blessings of the different freedoms we have experienced from liberty are plentiful, as Mr. Madison points out, such as how freedom has confronted the evil of powerful militaristic and factious nations. He and the others that met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft a new government knew the difference between a republic and all the other forms of governments. They were wise enough to know that the republic could expand considering the vastness of the American continent and that this type of rule would be the best. Also in this paper Mr. Madison explains the limits of a democracy as compared to a republic. He explains, “the natural limit of a democracy is that distance from the central point which will just permit the most remote citizens to assemble as often as their public functions demand . . . the natural limit of a republic is that distance from the center which will barely allow the representatives of the people to meet as often as may be necessary for the administration of public affairs.” With most of the world having endured centuries of rule by kings, the founders knew it would be easy for their newly founded free nation to fall into a democracy, or rule by the people. They knew, however, that this is not the best government to protect liberty and freedom. It is worth noting that Federalist Papers Eighteen through Twenty are a collection of writings by James Madison with the help of Alexander Hamilton. They begin by looking at the government of ancient Greece and compare it to the newly formed government of the United States. Quoting Mr. Madison, “It (ancient Greece) bore a very instructive analogy to the present Confederation of the American States . . . the members retained the character of independence and sovereign states and had equal votes in the federal council. This council had a general authority to propose and resolve whatever it judged necessary for the common welfare of Greece; to declare and carry on war, to decide in the last resort all controversies between members; to fine the aggressing party; to employ the whole force of the Confederacy against the disobedient; to admit new members.” It is quite amazing that Madison, Hamilton, Jay, and others were able to discovery from the annals of history some of the founding principles that ended up in our recently formed republic. Madison did realize, however, that the ancient Greek government did not encompass a complete republic as was being sought in the American experiment. Reflecting on, this he wrote, “Had the Greeks been as wise as they were courageous, they would have been admonished by experience of the necessity of a closer union . . . . Had Greece been united by a stricter confederation and preserved in her union she would never have worn the chains of Macedon; and might have proved a barrier to the vast projects of Rome.” One of the next significant Federalist Papers was number fifty-one, which was drafted by James Madison. This one is key because it describes the “auxiliary precautions” which, according to the author, is vital if a group of people are to develop and sustain a republic. These are separation of powers, checks and balances of power between the different branches of government, elections, and separate departments within the government—just to name a few. One of the well-known quotes from The Federalist Papers is given by Mr. Madison in this section: If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administrated by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions. These are some of the most profound words penned by the hand of a man. Madison cut to the core, stating that if we were as noble as angels we would not need a government, but in reality we need a government in place to keep us in check. He also states that you have to require the central government to keep itself in check. Near the end of this collection is another essay, number sixty-eight, written by Alexander Hamilton. In this one he expounds on the role of the president, which he defines as “the Chief Magistrate of the United States.” He sees the need to censure the president and hold him accountable to execute the government to protect the republic, especially against foreign powers. Electing a president is held in high regards by Mr. Hamilton. He explains, “This process of election affords a moral certainty that the office of President will seldom fall to the lot of any man who is not to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” Hamilton and many others saw the need to put the best man forward as the president of the United States, and I think most of us agree they did just that in electing General George Washington as our first executive of the United States. In the next to last Federalist Paper, number eighty-four, Hamilton addresses the question that surfaced soon after the Constitution was written: Why was there no Bill of Rights contained therein? He answers this with quite a force of boldness saying, “it contains, in the body of it, various provisions in favor of particular privileges and rights which, in substance, amount to the same thing.” In other words, Hamilton believed that the Constitution, as written, contained rights of the citizenry and that there was really no need to develop and adopt a separate bill of rights. However, shortly after the Constitution was ratified in June of 1788, the first ten amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, were added to it. James Madison created the Bill of Rights in order to get some of the state legislatures to adopt the Constitution. This review is just a snapshot of the writings of The Federalist Papers, but it does give you a picture of what was needed in order to get the states to adopt the newly written U.S. Constitution. I hope you will have the opportunity, as I have had, to review many of the eighty-five papers and see how well some of our founders desired the American Experiment to work. Let me know your thoughts on this at <brownfamily09@msn.com> |