In Defense of the Constitution

Оглавление

George W. Carey. In Defense of the Constitution

Отрывок из книги

IN DEFENSE OF THE CONSTITUTION

Note to the Reader

.....

What Hamilton does do is enlist the authority of Montesquieu to answer critics of the proposed union who argue that an extensive republic must necessarily be short-lived. Using a lengthy quote from Montesquieu as a point of departure on the advantages of a “CONFEDERATE REPUBLIC ” (9:40), Hamilton proceeds to argue that there is widespread misunderstanding concerning the essential elements or features of a confederacy. His purpose, it would appear, is to broaden the meaning or definition of confederacy so that the proposed system will fit within its confines. In any event, he concludes that “a confederate republic seems simply to be ‘an assemblage of societies,’ or an association of two or more states into one state.” The members of this association need not be considered as political equals, nor is the central government forbidden from acting directly upon individuals rather than through the governments of the member states. To argue otherwise, he contends, would be to adopt a position that is “supported neither by principle nor precedent.” He writes that “the extent, modification, and objects of the federal authority [that is, the central government of a confederacy] are mere matters of discretion” (41).11

It is in this context that the quote “perfect subordination to the general government” appears. The passage from which this phrase is taken reads as follows and comes immediately after the sentence quoted above relating to the “extent, modification, and objects of federal authority” being matters of “discretion”:

.....