Aristotles Legacy in the Federalist Papers -- Federalist Papers Essay

Aristotle's Legacy in the Federalist Papers While the government of the United States owes its existence to the contents and careful thought behind the Constitution, some attention must be given to the contributions of a series of essays called the Federalist Papers towards this same institution. Espousing the virtues of equal representation, these documents also promote the ideals of competent representation for the populace and were instrumental in addressing opposition to the ratification of the Constitution during the fledgling years of the United States. With further reflection, the Federalists, as these essays are called, may in turn owe their existence, in terms of their intellectual underpinnings, to the writings of the philosopher and teacher, Aristotle. In 1789, the Confederation of the United States, faced with the very real threat of dissolution, found a renewed future with the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. This document created a structure upon which the citizens could build a future free of the unwanted pitfalls and hazards of tyrannies, dictatorship, or monarchies, while securing the best possible prospects for a good life. However, before the establishment of the new United States government, there was a period of dissent over the need for a strong centralized government. Furthermore, there was some belief that the new constitution failed to provide adequate protection for small businessmen and farmers and even less clear protection for fundamental human rights. To counter these and a variety of other arguments, statesmen Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay composed a series of articles that would logically and critically address the grievances of those opposed to the... ...Federalist Papers: The House of Representatives," The New York Packet, No. 52, 1788. 6. Hamilton, Alexander and James Madison, "Federalist Papers: Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention," The New York Packet, No. 49, 1788. 7. Aristotle, The Politics, Trans. Benjamin Jowett, Book 3, Part XV. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html 8. Hamilton, Alexander and James Madison, "Federalist Papers: Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention," The New York Packet, No. 49, 1788. 9. Hamilton, Alexander and James Madison, "Federalist Papers: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments," The New York Packet, No. 51, 1788.