High Stakes Machine Gun Case Could Finally Settle Decades-Long Constitutional Battle
In Federalist 51 , James Madison recognized the “great difficulty” of self-governance: “ou must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” The Gun Control…
Opinion · 1 source · Jul 1, 2026Read itThe journal
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About Federalist No. 51
Federalist No. 51, titled: "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments", is an essay written by James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, the fifty-first of The Federalist Papers. This document was first published by The New York Independent Journal on February 6, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. Federalist No. 51 addresses the separation of powers, the federal structure of government and the maintenance of checks and balances by "opposite and rival interests" within the national government. One of Federalist No. 51's most important ideas, an explanation of checks and balances, is the often-quoted phrase, "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
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