MADISON'S GRAND THEORY

In preparation for the convention, Madison abstracted beyond the immediate events and his comparative studies to conclude that the general-level government – the extended republic – would inevitably be superior to state governments, as a matter of fundamental philosophy. The theory of the superiority of the extended sphere was developed first in his Vices of the Political System; was continued in letters to Washington, Randolph, and especially Jefferson, and in the Philadelphia Convention; and then was published in the famous Federalist Number 10.

Madison sought to “prove in contradiction to the concurrent opinions of theoretical writers,” that the republican form of government must operate not within a small but within an extensive sphere. In Madison's vision, republican passions and selfish interests within the smaller states had trampled the general or national welfare and individual rights. Diversification of interests, found only in an extended republic, would moderate the effect of passions and selfish interests. In any representative democracy, Madison argued, the elected officials properly represent the passions and the selfish interests of people. The interests of people are diverse: