Why does the American Form of Government Work?

 "If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote. It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the Constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens." 

 This quote looks at the idea of representing everyone in the (future) United States government, not just the majority party.  If only the majority of the people are represented in government, the government is no longer fulfilling its duties.  John Locke, for example, claimed a government must secure the life, liberty, and property (changed to pursuit of happiness in Constitution) of the people, and, if that government failed to do so, the people had the right to rebel.  One of the main reasons the American government works is because it attempts to represent everyone, not just the majority.

This excerpt from the Federalist Essays No. 10 explains,  "If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle."  In other words, minority factions will still get representation in government.  They get this because they can, "clog the administration."  An example of this is a filibuster.  The excerpt goes on to explain how the American people will be protected against a minority faction getting too much power.  “The form of popular government” allows the majority faction to “interest... the public good” One of the main reasons America’s form of government works is it allows for minority parties to have just the right amount of say in government.  They are not silenced, yet they have no way of making any rash changes.

"There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests."

 This quote looks at how one can remove a faction.  The first option is to "destroying the liberty."  Obviously, this is not an option, because the United States was built on the fundamental principle of liberty (for white males).  The second option is if "every citizen" has "the same opinions."  This, obviously, is not an option, because there has never been a time in history where everyone in a nation had the exact same view on everything.  In conclusion, factions are a necessary part of government, because there is no realistic way to remove them in a democracy.  The essay goes on to explain how to deal with these inevitable factions.

“We see it particularly displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, where the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights.”

This excerpt explains balance of powers, one of the fundamental grounds that the United States government was built on.  Our government today strives on this idea, as it is split up into the legislative, executive, and judicial branch.  The legislative branch consists of the congress, the executive of the president and his cabinet, and the judicial of the Supreme Court.   These three branches all rely on each other, which promises that no one group can get too much power.  It is this fundamental basis that makes our government work.  The congress, for example, cannot get a law passed without the approval of the president.  Laws will not be enforced well if the judicial branch does not help enforce them in a court of law.  Through this balance of power, the American government can successfully run without one group getting too much control.

"In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights. It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of interests, and in the other in the multiplicity of sects. The degree of security in both cases will depend on the number of interests and sects;" 

This excerpt focuses on the idea of freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech.  At the time the federalist essays was written, America was predominately religious.  The type of religions, though, did widely vary.   The excerpt explains that people must be secured  their "civil rights" and "religious rights" as people have a "multiplicity of interests" and a "multiplicity of sects."  This will obviously result in various views.  This document stresses that it is essential for security of people with differing views to have a democracy.  It is not a democracy if a person is to scared to speak up if they have an opposing view point.  We see this today in the 1st amendment, which secures freedom of expression.  This includes freedom of speech and freedom of religion.