APGOV: Federalist 51 & Marbury v. Madison Quiz

According to Madison, what is the key to the independence of each branch of government?

The key to independence through the branches of government is that each department should have as little control over who gets elected to the other branches. As such, all appointments should come from the people, rather than any specific group.

Why should the federal judiciary NOT be elected, according to Madison?

The federal judiciary should not be elected according to Madison because of two reasons. The first reason is that specific qualitiations are essential to members and second reason is that the permanent tenure had to destroy dependence on authority.

In Madison’s view which branch would be the most powerful? Why?

Madison had believed that the legislative branch would be the most powerful as it represents the direct will of people.

How was the power of the strongest branch to be limited? (2 ways)

The power of the legislative branch was to be limited by dividing it into separate branches and force different styles of elections for the branch.

What were the two major advantages of dividing power between a national government and local governments (eg the federal principle or federalism)?

By dividing power among the national and local governments, the overall government will control itself and each other, providing a strong security to the rights of the people.

Why can Congress challenge the President? Why can Presidents happily veto bills from Congress? Why don’t they just follow the wishes of the other branch?

The reasons for this opposition is the principle of checksand balances; in order to prevent a situation where one group has too much power, each federal group can leverage some power over the other. This prevents one group from claiming total control while keeping the overall government in a situation of power.

Look at quote 7, beginning with “ambition must be made to counteract ambition”. What is Madison saying in this quote? How does human nature relate to the system of checks and balances?

In this quote, Madison is saying how various interests have to be kept under control to prevent instances of tyranny or anarchy, and the best way to do so is to pit these interests against each other to keep them balanced. This is an attempt to control the aspect of human nature; by putting various interests against each other, no dominant movement can rise and take total control.

Madison might be argued to have expressed more concern about the rights of minorities than those of majorities. Why do you think that was the case?

One potential reason for this preference could be that in a typical society, a minority group is at far larger risk of being oppressed compared to a majority group. Having a majority attempt to oppress the minority would centralize power within one majority group, violating the idea of balancing power throughout society.

List out the 8 policy making institutions, the levels, and the branch they are associated with.

Branches: Executive, Legislative, Judicial

Federal: President, U.S Senate, House of Representatives, U.S Supreme Court

State: Governor, State Senate, State House of Representatives, State Supreme Court

What checks does each federal branch have on the others?

Legislative > Executive: Legislative makes laws and allocates funds for the Executive branch

Executive > Legislative: The president can veto legislation from the legislative branch.

Executive > Judicial: The executive branch appoints judges to the Supreme Court.

Judicial > Executive: The Supreme Court can rule over the executive branch on executive action.

Judicial > Legislative: The Supreme Court can rule over Congress on legislative action.

Legislative > Judicial: Congress confirms judicial appointments for the Supreme Court.

What was Marbury v. Madison?

Marbury v. Madison was a landmark court case which established the principle of judicial review—the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional.

Why did Marbury v. Madison occur?

Marbury v. Madison occurred when President Johns Adams appointed many new Federalist judges right before Thomas Jefferson’s presidency to maintain party rule. As such, President Thomas Jefferson told James Madison, the new secretary of state, to not deliver the commissions to the judges, including William Marbury. As such, he sued Madison, declaring that he rightfully deserves his commission to become a federal judge.

What was the outcome of Marbury v. Madison?

John Marshall had declared while Marbury legally deserved his commission, the Judiciary Act itself was unconstitutional and thus Marbury would not be receiving is commission. This had established the principle of judicial review, marking the court case as a landmark.

How does Marbury v. Madison relates with Federalist 51?

Marbury v. Madison relates to Federalist 51 through the concept of checks and balances. One of the main concepts of Federalist 51 is that by creating a system of checks and balances, tyranny and oppression can be avoided. Marbury v. Madison relates with this through the principle of judicial review, establishing a check of the judicial branch over the executive and legislative branch.