bryan watson period: 2

september 28, 2006

american government

1. factions( according to madison) are breaks in a government when two parties don't
agree. one is a minority and the other is a majority. these "factions" are written in the
constitution.

2. the causes of factions, according to madison, are complaints.

3. the primary object of government, according to madison, is that the mistakes we make
help keep government together.

4. according to madison, the rights of property originate in the republican government

5. the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal
distribution of property, according to madison.

6. removing its causes and controlling its effects are ways to cure factions. destroying the
liberty and giving citizens the same options are two more ways to cure factions.

7. from the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession
of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of
these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the
society into different interests and parties.

8. a pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens who assemble and
administer the government in person, and can admit no cure for the mischief of faction. a
republic is a government in which a scheme of representation takes place, opens a different
prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking. the difference is the republic is
where the people rule through representatives, a democracy is where the people rule
themselves directly.

9. according to madison, the republic inhibits the effects of factions because representatives
whose enlightened views and virtuous sentiments render them superior to local prejudices
and schemes of injustice