Madison excerpts and historical significance

Madison Excerpts

Madison refers to "several departments" of legislation that should lay the foundation for the government. These three branches are the legislative which in itself encompasses the rights to write and enact laws and has the power to elect many important governmental officials to impact the development of the other two branches, the executive branch which has the power to reject laws and to manage money as they deem appropriate, among other things, and lastly, the third branch is the judicial which determines how the other branches implications will affect the government as a whole. I do not believe that one branch is more important than the other, as they are all parts of a whole. Without one of them, the other two would be a complete mess. If the legislative branch were not around to be watched over by the executive branch, to then be looked after by the judicial branch, then this would only be a one party system. By allowing one branch to overtake more power than the other, there would not be an adequate system of check and balances and democracy would not exist.

Madison thought that it would be unwise for Congress to have the power to appoint the President because it would be a very biased opinion to only have one part of the government make an extremely important decision for the rest of the party. Having only Congress involved in the election process would be to only have the interest of one side in mind. I have come to agree with Madison as it would be deemed unfair to think that one specific portion of the government would have everyone's interest in mind. I was inclined to dictate my disagreement with this portion, as it is a very complicated process to have so many people and so many different opinions involved in the election of a President, but it would be the only way to assure that everyone's issues would be addressed.

The best interest of the people who the government is supposed to be representative of would be jeopardized if a President would determine the salary of a Senator. If one branch moves onto another's processes then it would lose its impartiality. The point of having the three separate branches is so that they could focus on their respective assigned duties, while keeping the other ones balanced. If the President starts determining the salary of a Senator, it would be to step on the toes of those who already have those assigned duties and have already had the experience in that department.

It is a natural human emotion to always want more. If the taste of power is given to the branches, they know that if they do not keep each other in check, they will be giving more power to the other branches. The innate need to not let any person or any entity overpower the rights that have been given will allow for a balance of power that will in the end work to produce a functioning government.

In excerpt 5, as posited by Madison, he states that the reason why a stable and structured government is necessary in the first place is because men are always hungry for more power. When given just a little bit of governance over a bigger crowd of people, they will naturally want more, as they see their way as being the right way, and the only way in which problems could be solved. But because men are inclined to want aspects to turn out in ways where their best interests are in mind and where they come out best in the end, a necessary system needs to be implemented to make sure that one branch does not overpower the other and make it difficult for certain regulations to get passed. Madison refers to the lack of structure and the lack of functionality that would be imposed if there were no rules to make sure that each party does what it is that they are supposed to do.

Because of this fear that one branch would want to overpower the other, a system of checks and balances is a much needed entity to preserve liberty. Madison is completely in the right when it comes to this process because he is aware of the issues that could arise from one branch having too much power. He recognizes that if a given branch has more power to put something through without the authorization of the other, then the democratic system will instead become one of a dictatorship where in the end, liberty will be lost, and the citizens who this government is supposed to represent become invisible to legislation.