James Madison's Strong Federal Government

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James Madison was a Federalist believing in a strong Federal government and felt a pure democracy would create instability by allowing one portion of the population, a majority, rule over another. Madison argued for a republic over a democracy if the government structure were federalism where power is divided equally between the central government and the states. Thus, a democracy with direct control of the population could be had at the local level. Furthermore, elected representatives could be voted on at the local level to represent them and their interests in national government for a term or period of limited time.
By Dividing the government into three equal branches Madison argued according to Hargrave Lesson 2 that “ambition would be