10/8 The Constitution and the Federalist (Part 2)

10/8 The Constitution and the Federalist (Part 2)

The Federalist No.10

"A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State" (p. 96).

                   In this passage Madison is making the case that a more diverse population will make it harder for any single "faction" to have too much power. In this example he stating that even though the poor outnumber the rich, it will be much easier for the poor to influence a "county or district" than a whole nation, simply because a more diverse class base will lessen the influence of the most populated class. Madison writes this passage because he believes that a federal government can and will be capable of managing a stable nation. 

The Federalist No.78

"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid (p. 120)."

In this passage Hamilton makes it clear that no legislative act can be considered valid if it goes against the Constitution. In his examples of the deputy and his principal and the servant and his master, Hamilton is stating that all legislative acts are subordinates to the Constitution. I believe he is writing this passage in light of the possibilities of judges abusing their judicial powers for their own interest.