Federalist No. 51

The Federalist No. 51

The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments

Independent Journal

Wednesday, February 6, 1788.

[James Madison]

http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm, 10/02/2015

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

According with this paragraph, it is true, if we were angels we do not need a government, because we always try to solve the conflicts and the society’s issues with calm and manners. But, we have different ideas, thinking, feelings, values, and a lot of disagreements with others. We need a government to represent us with laws that can help the society and help people to control themselves. A country needs rules to conduct people to have order and obey the laws. I choose this paragraph because it shows us the importance of follow the rules. Also we need to have a leader which represent us, who help the country to resolve the problems that sometimes are caused by ourselves.