James Madison's thesis and purpose in this paper is to prove that a strong representative government can work in a large country because in a large country it is easier to control special interest groups, or factions. Madison, one of the framers of the Constitution, upheld his federalist point of view that the nation was in need of a stronger government that provided defense and order, financial stability, and respect of foreign nations. Madison uses the example of factions to defend his thesis that a large country can house a representative government. Madison's definition of a faction is, "A number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent aggregate interests of the community" (29).

Today, we...