Federalist No. 51

E48985

Federalist No. 51 is an essay by James Madison that explains and defends the principles of checks and balances and the separation of powers in the proposed U.S. Constitution.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Federalist Paper
political essay
alsoKnownAs Federalist 51
Federalist Paper No. 51
arguesFor checks and balances between branches
division of power between federal and state governments
independent branches of government
protection of individual liberty through institutional design
associatedWith United States constitutional law
author James Madison
countryOfOrigin United States of America
discusses ambition counteracting ambition
executive branch
federalism
judicial branch
legislative branch
protection of minority rights
separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers
emphasizes importance of internal controls within government
need for government to control the governed and itself
famousPassage Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
follows Federalist No. 50
fullTitle Federalist No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments
genre political theory
historicalContext debates over ratification of the U.S. Constitution
influenced American constitutional interpretation
U.S. Supreme Court constitutional jurisprudence
modern theories of separation of powers
intendedAudience voters of New York
language English
mainTopic U.S. Constitution
checks and balances
political philosophy
republican government
separation of powers
originallyPublishedIn New York newspapers
partOf campaign to ratify the U.S. Constitution
positionInSeries 51
precedes Federalist No. 52
pseudonymousAuthor Publius
publicationDate 1788
purpose to defend the proposed U.S. Constitution
to explain mechanisms to prevent tyranny
to justify the structure of the national government
series The Federalist Papers
usedIn American civics education
constitutional law courses

Referenced by (8)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Federalist No. 51 ("Federalist Paper No. 51")
Federalist No. 51 ("Federalist 51")
alsoKnownAs
Federalist No. 51 ("Federalist No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments")
fullTitle
The Federalist Papers
hasPart
Federalists ("The Federalist No. 51")
keyText
Publius ("The Federalist No. 51")
notableWork
The Federalist No. 46 ("The Federalist No. 51")
relatedDocument
The Federalist No. 39 ("The Federalist No. 51")
relatedWork

Please wait…