OPIC 1.What does Madison mean by a “faction”? What are the causes and problems
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associated with factions? How does the constitutional framework work to solve these problems?
What are some of the negative consequences of the constitutional framework? If you were
president, how might you reform the constitutional framework to improve it?
e sure to:
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a. State your position and explain how your position is similar or different than the authors.
b. Define key terms, use examples and evidence from readings, lectures, videos, and class
discussions.
c. Explain your points with evidence and logic. Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence
and that you connect your points and paragraphs to each other. Be specific.
d. Your essay should be at least 3 pages and no more than 4 pages total in length.
James Madison defines faction as a group of people who gather together to protect and promote
their special economic interests and social opinions. Factions are inevitable because of wealth
and property disparity, and as long as there is inequality, factions form against each other.
According to Madison, the causes of factions are rooted in human nature by arguing, “as long as
men hold different opinions, have different amounts of wealth, and own different amounts of
property, they will continue to fraternize with people who are most similar to them.” Factions
tend to be the majority versus the elite minority, and they often work against public interests and
force their demands on others. Lecture American Revolution Part 1 identifies the five main
groups from colonial society with distinct socioeconomic statuses, which are the New England
merchants, Southern planters, Royalists, Small farmers, and Shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers.
These groups have inherent differences that can fuel factions from forming and pursuing their
agendas. The problem with factions is significant because if left unchecked, it can threaten the
stability of the government. Even though the government is democratic, the government would
have no control over the largest factions in a direct democracy where all citizens participate in
making the laws. The Federalist Number 10 Summary elaborates that direct democracies can’t
protect the minority from the strongest factions or protect personal and property rights.
Madison’s fear of the rule of mob was magnified by the uprising of debt-ridden farmers in
Western Massachusetts who prevented court proceedings until their demands were met. In
Howard Zinn’sA Kind of Revolution, it illustratedhow the state government was losing control
to a major faction of farmers, combined with the state militia, who were unreliable because they
sided with the farmers. This major faction exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation since it made the national government too weak to regulate the conflict. Madison
further criticizes state governments’ inability to control factions in the Federalist Number 10 by
saying, “In fact, the situation is so problematic that people are disillusioned with all politicians
and blame government for their problems.” In contrast, Thomas Jefferson believed that factions
and rebellion were a sign of a healthy government. InA Kind of Revolution,page 10, Jefferson
says that rebellion is rebellion is a natural part of the government. However, the political and
economic elites were concerned that major factions would spread beyond their state. Madison
proposed in the Federalist Number 10 that the only viable solution to control factions is to deal
with their effects to maintain peace. In the Constitution, this is done by making the national
government stronger by establishing a large republic rather than a pure democracy. This is to
unite the states into one union and provide checks and balances to prevent major factions from
forming and spreading nationally. Not one group could easily grab hold of the government and
make it work in ways they say as potentially dangerous to stability in government. This
specifically prevents self-interested economic demands from factions such as Shay’s rebellion,
like canceling debts or printing paper money. Even Alexander Hamilton recognized, fromA Kind
of Revolutionpage 10, the need for a “permanent bodyto check the imprudence of democracy.”
However, a significant consequence of the constitutional framework is that the series of checks
and balances results in difficult and slow policy changes. When there are pressing issues that
need to be addressed, the new constitution can make the government unresponsive and create
frustration. Even today, we’ve experienced how the government takes forever to get things done,
no matter how much it's advocated for. This leads decline in trust in the government, and today,
voter turnout is still largely low in the United States compared to other countries, according to
the Political Parties and Elections Part 2 Lecture. Another consequence is that the Constitution’s
design was for the interests of the wealthy elites because Howard Zinn criticized how the
Constitution had direct economic interests in establishing a strong national government. Slaves,
indentured servants, women, and men without property were the four groups Charles Beard
noted whose interests were not noted in the Constitution. At the expense of marginalized groups,
the framers designed a system that checks the power of direct democracy in favor of stability.
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