No. 3 – On Representative Government

Posted September 5th, 2019

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New-Model-Federalist-No.-3-On-Representative-Government

Author’s Note, April 29, 2021 – Updated to incorporate minor edits made while preparing the ebook version. Most notably, altered a reference in the first full paragraph of page 5 from “national campaigns” to “campaigns for high office.” I recalled, upon proofreading the essay for the ebook version, that the Presidential race is the only truly national campaign wherein candidates must reach several hundred million voters across all fifty States. Yet when I wrote the paragraph originally, I had in mind Congressional and gubernatorial races as well, particularly in large States – in contrast with, for example, campaigns for state legislative seats, which usually represent a district smaller than Congressional districts, as well as most county council, city council, or mayoral races. Thus, I modified the wording so as to better reflect that thought without considerably lengthening the essay.

Author’s Note, May 24, 2020 – I made some changes to the footnotes to include an excerpt from Federalist No. 39, in which James Madison describes how the federal principle is meant to operate in regard to the two houses of Congress and the Electoral College. I also eliminated a duplication, an excerpt from Montesquieu that is referenced in No. 2 – On Federalism. As a result, the position of paragraphs on the pages after page 3 has changed slightly compared to the original version. No significant changes were made to the body of the essay.