James Madison begins Federalist 14 with a quick Government 101 lesson. Explaining the difference between a democracy and a republic, Madison writes,
“It is, that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.”
As elementary as that may be, the point is certainly worth making in an effort to persuade support of ratification of the proposed Constitution, which was the purpose of the Federalist Papers, especially considering the open wilderness that had yet been settled. The young country of east coast states intended to grow. Madison outlines the boundaries of the country then as restricted by the Treaty of Paris after the Revolutionary War. We hadn’t yet got to “from sea to shining sea,” but nevertheless growth westward in any degree was inevitable.
Madison then outlines an important principle of the Constitution;
“The general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any. The subordinate governments, which can extend their care to all those other subjects which can be separately provided for, will retain their due authority and activity.”
That passage is a preview of the 10th Amendment, which came four years later and reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Federalist 14 has a positive message that we should always remember.
“Hearken not to the unnatural voice which tells you that the people of America, knit together as they are by so many cords of affection, can no longer live together as members of the same family; can no longer continue the mutual guardians of their mutual happiness; can no longer be fellow citizens of one great, respectable, and flourishing empire. Hearken not to the voice which petulantly tells you that the form of government recommended for your adoption is a novelty in the political world; that it has never yet had a place in the theories of the wildest projectors; that it rashly attempts what it is impossible to accomplish. No, my countrymen, shut your ears against this unhallowed language. Shut your hearts against the poison which it conveys; the kindred blood which flows in the veins of American citizens, the mingled blood which they have shed in defense of their sacred rights, consecrate their Union, and excite horror at the idea of their becoming aliens, rivals, enemies.”
That was true then and is still true today. Some are beginning to believe another civil war is brewing in this country. Violent Marxists, radical Jihadists, transgender ideology are flexing a surprising amount of strength, mostly among mental patients in need of serious help, but those destructive ideologies have also crept into current government at all levels. American values can win in the end, but not without careful vigilance.
And Madison would agree. He ends Federalist 14 with optimism, writing,
“Posterity will be indebted for the possession, and the world for the example, of the numerous innovations displayed on the American theatre, in favor of private rights and public happiness.”
Hear, hear. Madison sums up the great American experiment in government well, with the description, “in favor of private rights and public happiness.” Those are principles that have rightfully lasted, and must continue to guide us forward.
