Federalist No. 51

The Federalist Papers were a series of essays initiated by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. The essays were the most significant contribution to the debate over the structure of the new American government. Thomas Jefferson called them "the best commentary on the principles of government which ever was written." 

Federalist No. 51 was written by James Madison. The main argument of Federalist 51 is that the various powers of government must be exercised separately and distinctly in order to “guard the society against the oppression of its rulers.” In Federalist No. 51, Publius (James Madison) argues that the separation of powers described in the Constitution will not survive “in practice” unless the structure of government is so contrived that the human beings who occupy each branch of the government have the “constitutional means and personal motives” to resist “encroachments” from the other branches. The Federalist Papers are one of the most significant American contributions to the field of political philosophy and theory, and are still widely considered to be the most authoritative source for determining the original intent of the framers of the US Constitution. Federalist No. 51 set up the system of checks and balances that remains central to the American government today. This paper helped tip the balance in convincing the people to ratify the U.S. Constitution.