Federalist #51 (That's a good number)

In Federalist 51, James Madison wrote about the paradox of trying to create a government that is capable of controlling “. . . the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”  The delicate balance lies in trying to ensure the government as a whole has enough power to stop factions from having complete control while at the same time, having a system of balance that will not allow the government to run completely by itself. 

            The Constitution was an inspired document that was able to put the balance of powers into force.  First, there is a set of areas where the government can make laws in reference too.  Through this list it was unnecessary to explain the things the government could not do.  By only giving a list of things the government could do, anything outside of the list was clearly forbidden.  The Constitution should have been enough.  However, the Founding Fathers felt that if something might go wrong, and fearing for the freedom and rights of the People, they would need to do all in their power to ensure that the people are protected.  Thus came the Bill of Rights. These are areas that are written out where the government cannot make laws in reference to.  This Bill of Rights protects the people’s basic and some wanted rights.

            These rules, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights, help keep the government in check, but there are always ways around laws.  The Founding Fathers understood this and created a government that would, once elected by the People, rule itself while not having access to too much power.  The people needed to vote for the person they wanted in office.  If those people acting in office were not satisfactory, the people could vote them out.  The government was and is dependent on the people.  It is a different matter if the people do not use this power wisely. 

            The government is split into three separate areas: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive.  Each of these areas can veto another branches decisions.  This ensures that one branch will not become too powerful.  According to Federalist #51, a foundation of government must be “ . . . separate and distinct [in] exercise of the different powers of government . . .” in order to be successful and not full of tyranny.

            Not only is there a separation of powers between the different branches of government, but there is also a division of powers between the national and state governments called federalism.  The national government could, potentially, be the most powerful form of government if given the powers.  This is why the national government is limited in what is can do by The Constitution and The Bill of Rights.  However, everything that is not stated in The Constitution and The Bill of Rights are items that the state governments can look into.  Through popular vote of a state, a smaller groups individual wants are reflected in the outcomes. 

            While it is admirable, popular vote is not enough all of the time.  This is why there are different items that can and cannot be voted on at the national levels.  For example, Hitler was voted into power in Germany, but caused one of the most horrible genocides we know of.  In order to stop this happening, it is important to have a large country from which to gain votes. 

            Our country is large.  The larger the country, the harder it is for any one faction to have complete control.  It might be easy for a faction to gain control in a state, but in reality, over the entire nation, they will have little power.

            The government of the United States of America was perfectly designed since the Lord inspired it. There is a perfect system of checks and balances that keeps the powers in check.  This is to protect the people.  Unfortunately, the people, for many generations, have not taken upon themselves the responsibility of being the ruling force.  They have lost much power and because of that, it is easy to see our government weakening.  It will only become strong when the people remember that they are in power, and it is their right and duty to ensure this government will last for many generations to come. 

             

Inspiration and Perspiration Over a National Document

          It is obvious to most that the entire founding of the United States of America was only capable of being brought forth through the hand of God.  There needed to be a place of religious freedom for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  The Lord inspired our Founding Fathers so they would feel the need to have more freedom from their monarch King George III.  They started a revolution that was destined to occur and push America into an age of freedom.  These men admitted that without the hand of God, no revolution would have ever been possible.  The same goes for the organizing and writing of the Constitution.
            Most colonists were concerned with ensuring that their separate colonies would get the best deal.  The colonies had needed to unite in order to win the Revolutionary War.  However, once the war was won, the colonies were only focused on their personal gain.  They had much debt from the war with Great Britain. They were not able to pay it off as they wanted to because England set up a great number of tariffs that raised the colonists’ prices significantly.  In order to raise revenue, the colonists began to tax one another.  This caused a great rift between the colonies.  They would need to come together in order to become the strong nation it needed to be.            
           James Madison studied many forms of government and determined that the only form of strong government was a government that received its power from the people and having a strong system of checks and balances.  The idea of checks and balances had never before been accomplished, but Madison was determined to see the idea help America.  He brought his ideas in the form of the Virginia Plan that was read to members of an organization that consisted of representatives of the colonies.  These men would need to decide if the Virginia Plan would make their nation stronger.              
           It was a long battle.  At first, the colonist were opposed to abolishing the entire Articles of Confederation, but it was decided that in order for America to become a strong nation, they needed a form of federal government.  Most of the colonies were perfectly happy with a rule by the people, but the matter of equal representation disrupted much of the tranquility.   Smaller colonies would no longer have equal representation as they had possessed.  They were not willing to give this up.  It took weeks of deliberation for the large and small colonies to reach a conclusion.  They decided that if one side of Congress was formed in proportion to the population, the other could be filled with an equal representation regardless of population.  However, the large states were still against this and refused to allow the equal representation part of Congress to pass.  They needed a little Divine help.            
           In the Lord’s Council, members will go around and discuss their ideas.  If they are not unanimous, they will go around again.  The separate members of the council are guided by the spirit until they are in line with that the Lord would have them do.  Eventually, it was Madison that told the larger states to vote for the Great Compromise.  He said that as long as both sides got part of what they wanted, the government would be much stronger for it.  The council that brought about the Constitution was guided to act as if it was a council of the Lord’s.              
           Madison was the man that received the inspiration of what the United States of America needed as its central form of government.  The council that deliberated for weeks finally came to the conclusion that a compromise would do what was required to maintain a strong enough government.  The Lord had a hand through it all.  It is easy to see that as Americans we owe everything to our Creator, the Lord God Omnipotent.