Federalist Paper Number 10 by Term Paper

Thus, if liberty encourages factions, the Constitution uses factions to its benefit. Ultimately, the group of Americans who sought independence from Great Britain could be seen as a dangerous faction, especially by those Americans who did not want to split from their mother country. And so, the legislation they created, including the Declaration of Independence could be seen as documents resulting from a faction. While the Constitution attempted to limit factions, those who wrote it certainly constituted a faction, as they were simply a few who represented many. In addition, the southern membership could be called a faction, as they managed to keep any reference to slavery out of the Constitution, amounting to a vicious and dangerous omission that would later lead to Civil War. As Madison notes in the paper, "And what are the different classes of legislators but advocates and parties to the causes which they determine?" (Madison).Thus, every person has their own personal and political agenda, and it is difficult, if not impossible to avoid factions at one point or another. The very arrangement of the House of Representatives and Senate represents factions, as the predominant party leads the way in legislation and domination of the Congress. Thus, factions may be dangerous, but they have been used throughout the country's history in various ways and indeed, they form a backbone of the representation and legislation that guides the nation.

The Constitution attempts to control factions by the separation of power between the judicial, legislative, and presidential branches. However, this can be overcome by factious means, as recent history indicates. Thus, factions still play a part in government, and still form an important, if dangerous, part of the Constitutional process.

References

Madison, James. "Federalist Paper Number 10." Constitution.org. 2007. 5 March 2007.….....