Why Does the U.S. Government Work?

The American government is known for being one of the strongest democracies on the planet.  But why does the U.S. government, with all its different branches and dependency on the people, work?  The ingenuity of our government can be traced back to the Federalist Papers, eighty one essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to defend and support the new Constitution, the backbone of the country's government.  Two in particular, Federalist Papers No.10 & 51, highlight some of the main components of the functionality of the American government.

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Federalist Paper No.10

"It is in vain to say that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clashing interests, and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. Nor, in many cases, can such an adjustment be made at all without taking into view indirect and remote considerations, which will rarely prevail over the immediate interest which one party may find in disregarding the rights of another or the good of the whole. The inference to which we are brought is, that the causes of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects."

"By enlarging too much the number of electors, you render the representatives too little acquainted with all their local circumstances and lesser interests; as by reducing it too much, you render him unduly attached to these, and too little fit to comprehend and pursue great and national objects. The federal Constitution forms a happy combination in this respect; the great and aggregate interests being referred to the national, the local and particular to the State legislatures."

This paper, written by Madison, illustrates how the American government, instead of preventing parties and factions to be formed through revoking liberty and forcing people to conform to one belief, pacifies factions through curbing the effect they have on others.  Madison argues in this paper that majority factions endanger the rights and power of people in the minority, and, therefore, the government must stop this revocation of rights by taking action against dominant groups.  Because America was founded the idea of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as written in the Declaration of Independence, the government is unable to initially stop factions from rising without either revoking the people's liberty and free speech or forcing them to think in one particular way, which both contradict the values of this country.  Madison then comes to the conclusion that "relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects", as controlling the people is not a valid option.  This guaranteed freedom of speech without fears of retribution is part of why the U.S. government works: people are satisfied that they can make their own choices and respect that the government respects their rights and liberties, creating a mutual appreciation between the two, creating a sustainable government.  Additionally, this paper displays how the structure of America's government, with its power split between state and national government, balances power based on particular interest.  The U.S. divides responsibilities between the two governments because both need to deal with different scenarios and conflicts.  As written by Madison, power is split as "the great and aggregate interests being referred to the national, the local and particular to the State legislatures".  This divide in power allows for more precise governing, with each problem being addressed at a proper viewpoint, not one seat of government inexperienced in the size of the problem, making America's government function with a higher caliber of ruling.

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Federalist Paper No.51

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. 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."

"[Comprehending in the society so many separate descriptions of citizens as will render an unjust combination of a majority of the whole very improbable, if not impracticable] will be exemplified in the federal republic of the United States. Whilst all authority in it will be derived from and dependent on the society, the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority."

Federalist Paper No.51 focuses on how the government uses checks and balances in order to even out power and how a society with different beliefs, experiences, and classes will protect the rights of everyone from an overbearing majority. The author (Madison or Hamilton) initially starts the paper with a description of how the government balances itself as its members make sure no one branch has more power than another.  He makes the arguement that because humans are not perfect like angels, they cannot be trusted to govern themselves without "internal controls on government".  This system of checks and balances in the government is a major component in the U.S. government's functionality, as it not only keeps anyone from overpowering the government and deviating it from a democracy, but it also does so while keeping the power in the hands of the people, a fundamental value of the democracy of America.  The author also reiterates how America avoids allowing on particular group become a majority and overpower others, which helps the government function properly.  In addition to the points made about factions in Federalist Paper No.10, this essay explains how, with all the parties, beliefs, etc. in the melting pot that is the United States, there is no one overpowering majority that will defeat other minorities and "the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority."  Because there are so many interests of the people of America, the many components cancel out each other's power through equality of ideas, ensuring that no one's rights will be revoked because their ideas contradict those of an overpowering majority, sustaining the values of liberty of the United States and its government.