Internal controls on government

In support of the constitution, Madison stated in Federalist 51, ” 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.” Madison believed that if people were fundamentally good, no government would be necessary. But because of the fact that people are flawed, the government is necessary to keep order among people.

2).  He goes on to advocate for a government that has a separation of power, this way the power the government has would be limited to the people because those in the government are flawed. Madison believed that when people are given power, they in return want to take more.

To keep this from happening there needed to be a system of checks and balances put in place to keep one branch of government from having more power than the other branches ” necessary partition of power among the several departments…be the means of keeping each other in their proper places.”

3). Another reason madison advocated for the constitution was he believed in a government, a large republic to protect us from one faction uniting. He belived since people have different opinions and hold differnt values than one another that they might form alliances with people who share the same opinions and values to get what they want, leaving minority groups to experience adversity from the majority.

He believed that a strong republic would hold the people together and was necessary “In the extended republic of the United States, and among the great variety of interests, parties, and sects which it embraces a coalition of a majority of the whole society could seldom take place on any other principles than those of justice and