The Federalist #47 by James Madison Audio Recording

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
  • Federalist No. 47 is the forty-seventh paper from The Federalist Papers. It was published on January 30, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. James Madison was its actual author. This paper examines the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government under the proposed United States Constitution due to the confusion of the concept at the citizen level. It is titled "The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts".
    Like the other Federalist Papers, No. 47 advocated the ratification of the United States Constitution. In No. 47, Madison attempted to refute the citizens of the United States, and all those who opposed the constitution for fear that the separation of powers among the executive, judiciary, and legislature would not be defined enough in the constitution. Madison acknowledged that the topic of separation of powers was "one of the principal objections by the more respectable adversaries to the Constitution" and that "no political truth is certainly of greater intrinsic value." Madison acknowledged that "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." However, Madison explains his use of separation of powers utilizing a prodigious amount of support from the philosopher Montesquieu, whom Madison claims is to the British Constitution as Homer is to epic poetry. Montesquieu spent twenty years writing his best literary work, and one of the most detailed works in the history of law, the Spirit of Laws (1748). The publication focused on three topics: class of government, separation of powers, and political climate. Montesquieu aimed for the work to focus on the science of law, and thus a lack of spirituality occurred. He made up for this lacking by filling in historical information. He reasoned that history was the only true proof of cause and effect, as he viewed law as an "application of reason". Montesquieu claimed in Spirit of Laws that committing to liberty was equal to success. It is here that he focuses on the topic of separation of powers. Montesquieu believed that the only way to liberty was through the proper installment of separation of powers. He modeled this belief off of his love for the English government. Separation of powers was the equivalent to prosperity. Madison states Montesquieu's usage of the British government as the example of separation of powers in order to analyze Montesquieu's connections between the two. Madison quotes Montesquieu in Spirit of Laws as saying the British are the "mirror of political liberty". Thus, Montesquieu believed that the British form of separation of powers was of the utmost caliber.
    Madison continues by showing that the branches of the British government are not completely separate and distinct. He explains how the monarch (executive branch) can not pass a law solely, but has the power of veto, can create foreign sovereigns, and that he/she cannot administer a justice, but appoints those who do. He continues by examining how judges can exercise no executive or legislative action, but may be advised by the legislative counsel. Furthermore, he expresses how the legislature can do no judiciary act, but can remove judges upon agreement from both houses, can do no executive actions, but constitutes the magistracy and has the power of impeachment. From this analysis, Madison shows how each branch is, in some way, interconnected with one another. Madison also infers that when Montesquieu wrote, "There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or body of magistrates… if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers" he did not mean that there was to be no "partial agency". The idea that each branch would stand alone to solely deal with its own responsibilities is one that Madison believes is impractical and non-beneficial, which is supported by his findings. After the American Revolution, many Americans were extremely wary of a too-powerful government.
    In No. 47, Madison analyzes the importance, and controversy over the separation of powers, and checks in balances in the new constitution. By identifying the issue, analyzing Montesquieu's philosophy of law, and connecting it to that of the states' governments, Madison is able to fabricate a powerful, and effective essay that persuades the citizens of the United States to look at the proposed constitution more favorably.
    Footnotes

Komentáře • 2