Model Essay Answer-PSC 2010

What is the Madisonian model of government adopted in Philadelphia in 1787 and how was

it designed to prevent abuse of power?

Instructions: A good essay answer should contain the following; 1.Opening paragraph; 2.Main

body of essay 4 or 5 paragraphs containing evidence to back your answer; 3.Closing paragraph.

James Madison the chief designer of the new national government devised in Philadelphia

in 1787 created a system that he hoped would prevent abuse of power. It does this in 3 ways.

First it keep as much power out of the direct hands of the people. Second it divides

government power among separate branches. Third it sets up a system of checks and balances

between the branches. As Madison said: "In framing a government...the great difficulty lies in

this: you must first enable the government to control the governed: and then in the next place

oblige the government to control itself."( Edwards et.al., Government in America: People

Politics and Policy, p. 48)

Madison believed the greatest danger to any government is when a group (faction) gains

power and puts its interests ahead of the national interest. In a monarchy it may be a minority

faction that gathers around the king. But the United States is a republic where ultimate power

lies with the people. This was his great insight, that in a democracy it is the majority faction that

is the greatest danger because it can outvote the minorities and seek to oppress them. In his

system only one institution the House of Representatives is directly controlled by the people

but it can’t do whatever it wants because it has to share power with the other institutions of
government. Like the Senate, whose members are appointed by the states. Or the president,

who is chosen by a special electoral college. Finally there are the federal judges who are

appointed for life.

These institutions each have separate powers and are independent of each other. The

legislative or lawmaking powers are in the hands of the House of Representative and the

Senate. The executive or administrative powers are in the hands of the president. And the

judicial power or the ability to interpret the laws (judicial review) are in the hands of the courts

headed by a supreme court.

As a last safeguard there is a system of checks and balances so that the 3 main branches

can keep an eye on each other and prevent abuses. So the legislative branch passes the laws

but the president has to sign a law before it comes into force. The president gets to appoint

government ministers and judges but only with the approval of the Senate. Finally the judiciary

gets to declare laws passed by the House and Senate unconstitutional or stop a government

agency from doing something unconstitutional.

This Madisonian model is a complicated system of government and sometimes makes it

hard to get anything done. That is because it is designed to prevent bad policies rather than

make it easy for the government in power to do anything it wants. But in today's hyper

partisan atmosphere, made worse by social media, the ability to compromise with the other

side becomes harder and harder. Looking back this may be the greatest flaw in the design of

the US Constitution because even though it was meant to limit the power of factions(political

parties) it failed to do so. The parties took power at the state level and went on to hijack the

national government too. Today with Democrats and Republicans unwilling to work together to
solve the common problems faced by the nation, the US government is losing the confidence of

of its own people and the rest of the world.