The purpose of a national government, he began, was not just to deal with foreign powers and settle interstate disputes, but also to ensure “the security of private rights, and the steady dispensation of Justice.” And that led directly to the question of how to balance competing interests. “In Greece & Rome the rich & poor, the creditors & debtors, as well as the patricians & plebeians alternately oppressed each other with equal unmercifulness.” The solution, he concluded, was to go against the views of Montesquieu and create a large national republic: “The only remedy is to enlarge the
...more
Madison
