Federalist No. 14 (1787) is James Madison's reply to the objection that the United States covers too much territory to be governed as a single republic. Madison traces that objection to a confusion between a democracy, where citizens must gather in person and so must live close together, and a republic, which works through representatives and needs only that those representatives can meet. He argues that the Union's actual size is within that limit, pointing to Congress's attendance record and to European nations of similar extent, and adds that the national government's powers are limited, that the States keep their own governments, that travel will get easier, and that distant border States gain the most protection from union. He closes by urging readers not to reject an extended republic merely because it is new, calling the break-up of the Union the far more dangerous experiment.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: Federalist No. 14 on Wikipedia · Full text: Federalist No. 14 at Project Gutenberg
James Madison (1751–1836) was an American statesman, political theorist, and the fourth President of the United States. A principal architect of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he earned the title "Father of the Constitution." With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay he wrote The Federalist, a series of essays defending the proposed Constitution to the people of New York. His thinking on faction, representation, and the separation of powers remains foundational to American constitutional theory.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: James Madison on Wikipedia
Federalist No. 14 (1787) is James Madison's reply to the objection that the United States covers too much territory to be governed as a single republic. Madison traces that objection to a confusion between a democracy, where citizens must gather in person and so must live close together, and a republic, which works through representatives and needs only that those representatives can meet. He argues that the Union's actual size is within that limit, pointing to Congress's attendance record and to European nations of similar extent, and adds that the national government's powers are limited, that the States keep their own governments, that travel will get easier, and that distant border States gain the most protection from union. He closes by urging readers not to reject an extended republic merely because it is new, calling the break-up of the Union the far more dangerous experiment.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: Federalist No. 14 on Wikipedia · Full text: Federalist No. 14 at Project Gutenberg