(Hamilton, Alexander, or James Madison. Federalist No. 51: "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments." New York Packet, February 8, 1788.)
Federalist 51 was written by James Madison. Through this document contained inside of the Federalist Papers, Madison explained why it was necessary that we shall maintain the division of powers among the several departments talked about in the Constitution. This way the departments throughout the government would be able to keep each other in their proper positions. In order to keep a national government that controls itself and its citizens, the legislative authority must be divided into different parts by different methods of election and principles of action so their specific functions will be fulfilled. Federalist 51 contests the sources we read in class today, for example Document G: Brutus No. 1, October 18, 1878 states that, "In a republic,the manners, sentiments, and interests of the people should be similar. If this be not the case, there will be a constant clashing of opinions; and the representatives will be constantly striving against those of the other." (PP 2) The Anti-Federalists believed that because of the legislature's large size and way of government will cause all types of tensions and problems, that would neither be successful or self-sufficient. With James Madison's writing, the main reason the legislative department was split up so that each department has the right to check and balance each other. No group of congress inside of the legislature has the entitlement to more power, they must work together peacefully to spread out the opinions of the people to create the right laws and keep their needs in mind.
Federalist 51 provides us a opinion on the Constitution that fully explains why the legislature was split into two, without such a figurative and complex type of writing that keeps it honest and clear. Despite the explanation, it only gives us what one person thought about checks and balances. We need breadth, a variety of opinions on checks and balances to fully understand what the whole of the United States thought about this system at the time.
