The Constitution And The United States - 1830 Words

The Constitution was written with one principal issue in mind: factions. This central point of tension within any government has remained a founding principle in the United States, and a strong national government is the answer to this issue. By creating a representative and balanced national core the country is given the best chances to avoid tyranny. While these ideals have worked well in the United States, the Constitution has fallen short of its original goals. Control of the US is now placed in a two party system, and too often in corporate control, both factions inadequately checked by the current system. A document rooted in 200 year old ideology has seen its time come and go, and today the nation needs a new base, founded on the†¦show more content†¦Madison postulates that a larger national government will more effectively prevent tyranny for two reasons. He states first that â€Å"representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cab als of a few†. With only a limited number of representatives, the ability for a faction to take control is greater. Increased diversity with in the deciding body is necessary to protect against these dangers. He also states that a larger pool of voters can prevent unethical swaying of elections, and therefore prevent tyranny. Another view presented in The Federalist Papers was the necessity of a cumbersome government. An expedient government is one in which laws can be changed quickly, and one in which justice is easily avoided. An example can be taken from the Committee of Public Safety during the French revolution. Here, expediency was great and tyranny the result. The constitution addresses the controlling of faction specifically. The system’s aim is to create a cumbersome, checked government that will prevent a faction control. The principle method employed to achieve this end is to divide powers, and to create a system of checks and balances to insure that each pow er achieves their designated role within the whole of the government. The powers outlined being the legislative, the executive, and the judicial; each piece checking the others. Take, for example, the legislative