The United States of America decided to break away from The British Empire. The first constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation, which imposed strict limitations on the authority of the federal government. Most of the power rested in the hands of state governments. The government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation was weak, could not enforce laws, raise an army, regulate commerce, or levy a tax. Every state had a different unit of currency. Each state had its own rules and laws, and mostly acted like an independent nation. After Shays Rebellion, a brief uprising of farmers in rural Massachusetts against political elites, showed the weakness of the government in its present form, and the founders decided the formation of a new Constitution was necessary. …show more content…
James Madison defines a faction as a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common interest. Madison the author of Federalist Paper argues about the danger of factionalism on liberty. “Madison also characterized the United States as representative democracy rather than a pure democracy (Kramnick199).” Madison defines a faction as a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common interest. Madison advocated for representative government to protect individual liberty from the majority rule. Pure democracy had no cure for the mischiefs of factionalism. Madison argued the problem comes from majority factions gaining popular sovereignty, and using that power to prevent minority factions from participating in gaining power. Madison makes an argument in favor of a larger republic and more centralized government as a way to prevent strong factions. The Federalists believed that the more centralized government would protect individual liberties, and ensure that no faction become too