Exhibit 1221 ยท Political essay
The Federalist No. 51, The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
Madison argues that the separate departments must have the personal motives to resist encroachments by the others, so that ambition counteracts ambition, and that a government administered by men over men must be obliged to control itself.
- Source
- James Madison (as 'Publius'; authorship of No. 51 is usually assigned to Madison)
- Date
- 6 February 1788
- Quoted from
- Federalist No. 51, paragraph beginning 'But the great security against a gradual concentration' (Gutenberg ebook 1404 plain text)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1404
- Accessed
- 2026-11-10
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Same paragraph: 'Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.' and 'If men were angels, no government would be necessary.'