The Federalist Papers, Federalist No. 46 summary

What happens

1. Madison establishes that both governments serve the people, who hold ultimate authority over their competing claims.
2. He argues that personal ties, public offices, and everyday concerns give the States stronger popular attachments.
3. He uses wartime experience and Congress’s local loyalties to support the States’ advantage in influence.
4. He explains how popular resistance, state executives, and legislative obstacles can frustrate unpopular federal measures.
5. He argues that coordinated States and a large citizen militia can resist even a hypothetical federal army.
6. He concludes that popular dependence or state resistance prevents federal rulers from successfully seizing excessive power.

In this paper

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