James Madison's Fear of Factions

Today, Americans probably cannot imagine politics without political parties, but this was not the case at the nation's beginning. The Framers not only failed to foresee the rise of a two-party political system, but were horrified at such a prospect. In Federalist papers, essays written to persuade Americans to support the new Constitution, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton(right), and John Jay hailed the Constitution's advantages and attempted to refute its critics. In the most famous of these essays, Federalist number 10, Madison warned of the potential danger of factions, groups of citizens organized to pursue their particular political interest. Factions could be united by regional interests, religious faith, and, especially, by economic interests. Madison was especially troubled by the possibility of a majority faction, one large enough to win control of the U.S. government and impose its will on those who disagreed with it. What Madison called a majority faction we might well call a political party. (It is instructive to note that the Constitution, written largely by Madison in 1787, says nothing about political parties.)

Madison argued that the new Constitution was designed to protect America from majority factions. Because the U.S. was a republic, not a strict democracy, the people's will would be represented by elected legislators, who would ideally be wise, fair-minded men, who would seek to do what was best for the entire nation, rather than further the interests of one particular faction of Americans. Madison also argued that the United States was so large and so diverse that it would contain many different factions, none of which would become a majority, gain control of the government, and impose its will on an unwilling minority.