Note: The following remarks are adapted from Dean John J. Goyette’s report to the Board of Governors at its November 16, 2019, meeting. 它们是人类的一部分 正在进行的一系列会谈 about why the College includes certain texts in its curriculum.
By Dr. 约翰J. Goyette
Dean, 托马斯·阿奎那 College
It is to some degree obvious why we read 联邦党人, since it is among the key texts of the American founding. But I would like to provide some more concrete reasons for its inclusion in our curriculum by sketching a few of the key themes. Before I do that, it is probably good to set out a few historical facts.
联邦党人 最初是以一系列报纸文章的形式发表的，目的是说服各州批准新起草的联邦宪法. They were composed by 亚历山大•汉密尔顿, 詹姆斯·麦迪逊, 和约翰·杰伊, appearing in print under the pseudonym “Publius,” a name drawn from Publius Valerius, the ancient Roman who helped to establish the Roman Republic. 亚历山大•汉密尔顿 came up with the idea of writing 联邦党人 in response to published criticisms of the new constitution (by authors later called the Anti-Federalists), 哪一个 were written under such pseudonyms as “Cato” and “Brutus” (ancient defenders of the Roman Republic). Hamilton invited both Jay and 麦迪逊 to join the project, but I’m going to focus on Hamilton and 麦迪逊 since the bulk of the 联邦党人 was written by them — Jay became seriously ill after composing Federalist #5.
亚历山大•汉密尔顿
Let me begin with 亚历山大•汉密尔顿. A few biographical notes: Hamilton was one of the founders, a protégé of George Washington. As the first secretary of the Treasury, he was responsible for establishing a national bank. Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, who was the vice president at the time.
《BG电子平台》第一章, 汉密尔顿通过提醒人们注意开国元勋们通过反思和选择建立新政府的独特机会，为这部系列剧定下了基调, in contrast to most existing governments, 哪一个 were founded by force.
Perhaps the most prominent idea that Hamilton promotes is that of a strong executive as provided by the U.S. 宪法. 《BG电子平台》第70篇 he outlines the reasons for this proposition:
Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations 哪一个 sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, 的派系, 还有无政府状态.
In thinking about a strong executive, it is important to have in mind the failings of the Articles of Confederation, 在美国之前.S. 宪法 and 哪一个 were weak and ineffective. 汉密尔顿提醒他的读者一个软弱的行政当局的问题:“一个软弱的行政当局意味着一个软弱的政府. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, 必须, 在实践中, 糟糕的政府.”
Federalist #70 is also famous for defending the separation of powers articulated in the U.S. 宪法. 我所说的“三权分立”不仅仅是指一个制衡体系——政府的一个部门对另一个部门起到制衡的作用. Checks and balances are certainly included in the notion of a separation of powers, but Hamilton also insists that the powers separately entrusted to each branch are suitably assigned and delineated in the U.S. 宪法. 《BG电子平台》第70篇, 例如, 他认为，由于行政工作需要精力，将行政部门置于个人手中是合适的, whereas the legislative branch ought to have many members, since that makes it more apt to “deliberation and wisdom,” and better able to secure the privileges and interests of the people.
Another key theme in the articles by Hamilton is the principle of judicial review, 哪一个 specifies the most important role of the judicial branch. 他在《BG电子平台》第78篇中指出，司法部门有责任审查法律和法规，以确保它们与宪法相一致. 这是汉密尔顿最重要的贡献之一，因为宪法没有明确概述司法审查的任何程序, nor does it specify who has the ultimate authority to judge the constitutionality of laws and statutes. 汉密尔顿认为，假定立法机关是其自身行为是否合宪性的唯一法官，就是赋予它不受制约的权力. He argues that it is the judicial branch that protects the will of the people as expressed in the 宪法. As Hamilton makes clear, this presupposes that the 宪法 is the “fundamental law.” The principle of judicial review was affirmed by the Supreme Court, and articulated in particular by Justice John Marshall, in 马布里诉. 麦迪逊 (1803), arguably the single most important decision in American constitutional law.
詹姆斯·麦迪逊
更多的 than any other founder, with the remotely possible exception of Gouverneur Morris, 詹姆斯·麦迪逊 is responsible for the particular form of government set out by the founders. Recognizing the failings of the Articles of Confederation after the Revolutionary War, he was the principal organizer of the 宪法al Convention and the principal author of the U.S. 宪法 and the Bill of Rights. For this reason he is sometimes called the “Father of the 宪法.”
Along with 托马斯。 Jefferson, 麦迪逊 was a strong advocate for individual liberties, especially freedom of religion. He served as secretary of state under 托马斯。 Jefferson, during 哪一个 time he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, and he later succeeded Jefferson as the fourth president of the United States. It is worth noting that even though 麦迪逊 collaborated with Hamilton in writing 联邦党人, the two later became political opponents because of Hamilton’s efforts to centralize the economy, and they also engaged in published disputation over the use of executive power.
麦迪逊和汉密尔顿在一个重要方面达成了一致，那就是他们都认为，除非宪法被视为“根本法”，否则美国的建国就不可能取得长期的成功.在《BG电子平台》第49篇中，麦迪逊认为有必要培养对宪法的敬畏，并使修正案很少出现，难以颁布. Here we see an important difference between 麦迪逊 and Jefferson. Whereas Jefferson described the 宪法 as a “living document” 哪一个 must keep up with the progress of the human mind, 麦迪逊 was much less sanguine about the wisdom of frequent change. He saw the need to reverence the 宪法 in order to ensure political stability. 在这方面, 麦迪逊 was much more prudent and sober-minded than Jefferson, 谁曾说过“自由之树必须用爱国者和暴君的鲜血不时地浇灌”——他将其描述为“自由之树的天然肥料”.”
Federalist #10 is probably the most famous, and perhaps the weightiest, of the articles of 联邦党人. It contains a lengthy discussion of how to address the problem 的派系. By faction is meant any group of citizens, whether a minority or a majority, 由于某种共同的利益或激情而联合起来，使他们朝着与其他公民的权利或整个社会的利益相违背的方向前进. The rich and the poor are perhaps the most obvious examples of political faction.
Previous statesmen and political philosophers sought to reduce or eliminate the causes 的派系. 例如, 他们提出了一些法律和公共政策可以最大化中产阶级的规模，最小化极端富人或极端穷人的数量的方法, so as to reduce competing class interests. 他们还试图通过某种形式的共同教育来形成习惯和观点的统一，这样共同利益就会压倒个人利益.
麦迪逊 rejects this line of thought. 他认为，任何减少派系原因的尝试要么会消除人类自由(在这种情况下，补救措施将比疾病本身更糟糕)。, or would be foolish and impractical. This is because — as 麦迪逊 puts it — the seeds 的派系 are sowed into the very nature 人的; they arise from “[t]he diversity in the faculties of men, from 哪一个 the rights of property originate.” Since 麦迪逊 regards the protection of these diverse faculties or abilities as “the first object of government,” any attempt to make human beings equal by force or artifice, or to radically curtail the property rights that follow from differing abilities, would necessarily eliminate human freedom. 社会主义是试图消除获取财产能力的自然不平等如何破坏人类自由的一个例子.
无论如何, if we presume that the chief end of government is to protect the natural faculties of acquiring property, then 麦迪逊 sees faction as a necessary result:
From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of differing degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties. … [T]he most common and durable source 的派系s has been the various and unequal distribution of property.
麦迪逊认为派系是无法避免的，因为它来自于获取财产的自然和不平等的能力. Efforts to overcome the causes 的派系 would undermine liberty. 此外, since unequal faculties of acquiring property necessarily produce “different interests and parties,“试图通过共同教育来克服派系的原因注定会失败，因为派系根植于自然的不平等.
According to 麦迪逊, the only remaining alternative is to control the 影响 的派系. The solution to the problem 的派系 is contained in the very form of government that is proposed by the U.S. 宪法, that is, a democratic republic. 在这里，我们必须区分纯粹民主- -一个由少数公民亲自开会审议和管理政府的社会- -和一个共和国或代议制民主- -一个人民享有主权的政治社会, but government is administered by a small number of elected officials.
麦迪逊 sees two distinct advantages of a democratic republic. 第一个, by placing the powers of government in the hands of a few elected officials, 更大的可能性是，那些统治者将拥有伟大的智慧来辨别人民的真正利益，并热爱正义，使他们不太可能被部分或暂时的利益所左右. 简而言之, 人民的利益和意见将通过选举产生的代表这一媒介得到提炼和扩大. 第二个, a representative democracy can include a greater number of citizens and be spread over a much larger territory, 哪一个, 据麦迪逊说, is the principal advantage of republican government. 球体越大, the greater the number of parties and interests, 哪一个 will make it less probable that any one party or interest will dominate.
In other words, the solution to the problem 的派系 is to multiply the number 的派系s! By increasing the number 的派系s, you can decrease the probability that any one faction will prevail over the interests of the others. 麦迪逊认识到，任何形式的政府都不能阻止不公正的多数人推翻少数人的权利和利益, he argues that republican government, and more particularly an extended republic, is the form of government that best safeguards liberty against the tyranny of the majority.
Thus we can see that, even though the articles of 联邦党人 were written in response to address a very particular historical moment, they address perennial themes about the nature of government, 人的, 自由和平等. These themes underlie almost every political debate, irrespective of time or place, and understanding them is essential for any American and all true lovers of liberty.