A Due Sense of National Character - Federalist #63
In Federalist #63 James Madison discusses the importance of the United States Senate in creating a national character for the United States.
Federalist #63
March 1, 1788
James Madison
Federalist #63 is James Madison’s final contribution to the Federalist Papers.
In this essay, he concludes his discussion regarding the reasons for, and organization of, the United States Senate.
He covers two main topics...the want of a national character and the term of Senators.
National Character
Madison begins this Paper discussing the importance of creating a national character for the United States.
Among the several reasons he lays out for this, the most important is gaining the respect of other countries.
This was at a time when the United States were desperate for other nations to take them seriously in international events. The idea was that a wise Senate would demonstrate a coherent and stable plan which would be recognized by other countries as coherent and trustworthy.
Six Years
Madison proceeds to discuss the length of terms for Senators.
This was tricky, as some Anti-Federalists argued that six years was too long to hold the office while others believed that Senators should be chosen for life.
In Madison’s opinion, the length of a Senator’s term was just right. It would give stability to the Government and keep the officials responsible for their decisions but did not permit the Senators to stay long enough to abuse their power.
This setup had all the benefits of an aristocracy while protecting against the tyranny which aristocracy traditionally became.
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