The Federalist Papers, Federalist No. 28 summary

What happens

1. Hamilton argues that governments sometimes need military force because laws alone cannot stop every rebellion.
2. He distinguishes small disturbances that militia can suppress from larger uprisings that may require regular troops.
3. He argues that separate confederacies or independent States face the same need for force as a united government.
4. He identifies representative control as the main protection against military abuses and recognizes self-defense when representatives betray citizens.
5. He argues that competing governments and State legislatures give citizens organized ways to resist usurpation.
6. He concludes that distance, limited resources, and population growth make national military despotism difficult.

In this paper

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