Federalist No. 39

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James Madison, author of Federalist No. 39

Federalist No. 39 is an essay by James Madison. It is the thirty-ninth of the Federalist Papers, entitled "The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles." Like all the Federalist Papers, it was published under the pseudonym Publius. It was published on January 18, 1788.

In No. 39, Publius attempts to describe the nature of the United States government as proposed by the Constitution. Rather than a strictly national or federal constitution, Publius argues, the government will be a hybrid of both. He begins by redefining the term "republic," stating three principles that must be present for a true republic to exist:

1. The power to govern must be derived from the consent of the people.
2. Representatives elected from the people are the administrators of the government.
3. The terms of service of the Representatives must be limited by time or good behavior.

The consent of the people can be given either directly, as when citizens vote directly for members of the House of Representatives, or indirectly, as when the state legislatures elect U.S. Senators. During the time of the founding, Senators were not directly elected by the people, though this was changed in 1913 by the 17th amendment.

Publius goes on to describe several aspects of the proposed government. He uses examples such as the House and the ratifying of the constitution itself to show that the new government will be republican in some aspects and federal in others, with a balance being the goal. In the end, Publius is arguing for a democratic republic in which the principles are republican but the legitimacy is democratic.

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Federalist No. 39