American Political Philosophy: Republicanism
Within this paper, the general theory of republicanism will be presented. The conceptualization of republicanism discussed within the paper as an American political philosophy will be based on The Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison in 1787. Initially, a brief overview of relevant background information on The Federalist Papers will be provided. This will be followed by a discussion of the primary components of republicanism as set forth within the works of Hamilton, Jay and Madison. A summary and conclusions will then be provided.
Overview of The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers have been suggested as representing one of the most important writing in American political thought (Yarbrough, 1986). It represents a collection of 85 letters written by Hamilton, Jay and Madison under the pseudonym of Publius. The letters were written to the American public and were initially published in a series fashion in the newspapers of New York City. As explained by Rossiter (1961), the papers were written by the three authors for the purposes of influencing the ratification of the Constitution. Yarbrough further clarified that the motivation for the papers emerged after the Federal Convention concluded its session on September 17, 1787 after deliberating and compromising for a period of four months on the Constitution. At the closing of its session, the Federal Convention forwarded the proposed Constitution to Congress with the stipulation that nine states would need to ratify it before it could go into effect. As noted by Yarbrough, Alexander Hamilton who was a New York delegate to the Convention and represented one of the Constitution's most ardent advocates recognized the importance of New York in securing the ratification of the Constitution. New York was the seat of the Articles of Confederation and was believed to have a pivotal influence in relation to the New England states as well as to other states. He sought out the assistance of Jay and Madison in pursuing the hurried writing of The Federalist Papers as a means of gaining the support of the people of New York in ratifying the Constitution while educating them as to the significance and meaning of the Constitution in the establishment a system of government within America.
According to Rossiter (1961), of the 85 letters that were written Hamilton wrote fifty-one numbers (1, 6-9, 11-13, 15-17, 21-36, 59-61, 65-85), Madison twenty six (10, 14, 37-58, and probably 62, 63), and Jay five (2-5, 64). Three of the letters (18-20) represented the joint efforts of Madison and Hamilton. As further explained by Rossiter, The Federalist Papers provide an explanation of the benefits of federal government; criticism and documentation of the Articles of Confederation as not producing such a government; an examination of the Constitution as means for securing federalism; and, and, a discussion of "enduring truths" that help to clarify both the dangers and benefits associated with a free government. While the papers did little to influence the outcome of ratification, as noted by Rossiter, they remain a lasting foundation upon which federalism has come to be understood and provide an ongoing understanding of the principles of constitutionalism, representing in their entirety a treatise on free government in peace and security.
Republicanism
Within The Federalist Papers, Hamilton, Jay and Madison provide a conceptualization and vision of republicanism as the political philosophical model upon which the federal government of the U.S. should be based. Included within the papers are definitions of republicanism, discussions on the characteristics of republicanism and the benefits associated with the Constitutional guarantee of republicanism. Using the papers as the basis for this discussion, an overview will be provided of each of these areas as conceptualized by Hamilton, Jay and Madison.
In The Federalist Papers, there is an effort made to clarify and define republicanism. In this vain, Madison engaged in an effort in No. 10 to distinguish between government based on republicanism and that representative of a pure democracy. According to Madison, republicanism as represented by the establishment of a republic form of government differs significantly from a pure democracy. Madison explained that a pure democracy often relies on the assembly of a small number of its citizens who do not have the necessary incentive to protect the personal security or the rights of property of the larger society. As noted by Madison, "theoretic politicians, who have patronized this species of government, have erroneously supposed that by reducing mankind to a perfect equality in their political rights, they would at the same time be perfectly equalized and assimilated in their possessions, their opinions, and their passions" (Hamilton, Jay & Madison in Rossiter,...
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Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles about the United States Constitution. These are a series of eighty-five letters written to newspapers in 1787-1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, urging ratification of the Constitution (Wills, 1981). For many years, historians, jurists, and political scientists share a general consensus that The Federalist is the most important work of political philosophy and pragmatic government ever written in
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