Summary
This document (the Federalist) will provide all the reasons to support
the new plan of government described in the U.S. Constitution, and
responses to each of the criticisms of the plan.
Opponents to the new plan criticize it most on it creating a strong central
government that will be abusive to individual liberty. However, an energetic
government is crucial to the protection of individual liberty. The plan of
government under the Articles of Confederation was unable to
effectively protect individual liberties because it did not act directly upon
the people, and had no authority to enforce its laws.
One of the biggest problems resulting from the Articles of Confederation
was that there was no means to enforce unity amongst the states. This led to
competition between the states over land, commerce, and repayment of public
debt. Over time, this would naturally lead to further competition, and an
inability to provide for the common defense. Additionally, individual states
would seek to increase their own military strength to defend themselves against
foreign invasions and invasions by their neighbors, leading to more wars, and to
the suppression of civil liberties by military despotism.
The confederate republic form of government is ideal for the United States
because it extends the advantages of popular government, in the form of the
central government, without reducing the compactness, in the form of the state
governments that retain much of their sovereignty. Factions are less likely in
this form of government because the base of representation is spread over a much
larger population.
The proposed plan of government will also improve commerce and the wealth of the
nation because European nations will be compelled to follow uniform trade
regulations enforced by a single navy. They will become inclined to negotiate
for more mutually beneficial trade. The wealth of the nation will improve and
the government's revenue will increase, thereby reducing the likelihood for
property taxes.
The most important function of the government is to provide for the common
defense, and the central government should be given as much power as necessary
to match the responsibility of providing for the common defense. The
confederacy failed to effectively provide for the common defense because the
responsibility fell upon the central government, while the power rested with the
states.
The central government must be able to maintain standing armies, provide for a
national militia, and be able to levy direct taxes to support its common defense
and provide for national prosperity. Fears about the central government becoming
too powerful and abusing its military authority or right to tax should be
soothed by understanding the role of legislature, or the representatives of the
people, in determining the central government's authority to raise an army and
levy taxes. Allowing both the federal and state government to levy taxes will
ensure that they both have enough funds to effectively plan to meet their
different needs
Critics claim that the Constitutional Convention was not authorized to
remove the Articles of Confederation. In fact, resolutions of both the
Annapolis Convention and the Confederation Congress allowed for any changes
consistent with the needs of the nation. It contains many of the same powers,
only strengthened, and differs only in the number of states required to ratify
the changes, requiring only 9 instead of the formerly required 13.
Furthermore, the Constitution requires that the people, not the states, are
needed to ratify the document and decide whether they will take the advice
of the framers or not. The framers did the best within their abilities to
provide a plan that would best ensure the happiness of the American people. Even
if the convention was unauthorized, that does not mean that the states should
not take the good advice of the delegates to the convention.
Each of the powers delegated to congress under the U.S. Constitution
originate with the people themselves, are checked by the authority of other
branches of government, or can be checked by the state governments. The powers
delegated to the central government will best maintain the individual liberty of
the citizens by providing for unified and enforced regulations and guidelines.
Plus, the state governments retain a large portion of their sovereignty under
the new form of government, which is dependent on the state governments for its
elections and its membership in the Senate. The state governments will always
collectively overpower the central government due to the sheer number of state
officials, and to the close connection of the people to their local governments.
The state and federal governments are not competing for power, but designed to
effectively work together in protecting the common good. The state governments
are responsible for internal affairs, and the federal for external affairs. They
have the mutual authority to check the power of the other, through the power of
the people. This will especially protect the state governments from usurpations
of power by the federal government.
The division of the federal government into three distinct branches, each with
the authority to effectively check the power of the others will also ensure the
best protection of individual liberty. Although critics claim that a mixing of
powers will potentially lead to all the powers amassed in one branch, the
subdivision of authority on two levels, state and federal, provides a double
protection for the rights of the people.
The unique characteristics of the American people make it perfect for self-
government. The form of an extended republican government described by the
U.S. Constitution will offer the best protection for the individual
rights of citizens while having the power to work towards the common good.
