Why does the American form of government work?

Federalist Paper No. 10:

“In the first place, it is to be remarked that, however small the republic may be, the representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cabals of a few; and that, however large it may be, they must be limited to a certain number, in order to guard against the confusion of a multitude. Hence, the number of representatives in the two cases not being in proportion to that of the two constituents, and being proportionally greater in the small republic, it follows that, if the proportion of fit characters be not less in the large than in the small republic, the former will present a greater option, and consequently a greater probability of a fit choice.”

In this passage, Madison explains that in order for a republic to be ideal, the number of representatives elected by the general public must fit within a certain threshold: raised but limited. If the number is too small, then the ideas and opinions of the few certainly won’t represent the diversity of the views expressed by the public (“guard against the cabals of a few”). If the number is too large, then there will be nothing to “guard against the confusion of a multitude.” Thus, our government currently works simply because the proportion of representatives to the general people fits between the upper and lower boundaries of an ideal number.

“The smaller the society, the fewer probably will be the distinct parties and interests composing it; the fewer the distinct parties and interests, the more frequently will a majority be found of the same party; and the smaller the number of individuals composing a majority, and the smaller the compass within which they are placed, the more easily will they concert and execute their plans of oppression. Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other.”

Madison elaborates that a republican government is much more likely to succeed with a larger society rather than a smaller one, since having a small population of people would more frequently produce a majority party within the government. With more people, you find a larger variety of parties and opinions, which would greatly reduce the chances of having a common majority in government and allow more voices to speak out and be heard. A republic is defined by it’s ability to allow multiple opinions be expressed, and this definitely won’t work if there aren’t enough opinions to express. The United States of America is large, both population and territory wise, and thus a republic has a high chance of succeeding here.

Federalist Paper No. 51:

“These inventions of prudence cannot be less requisite in the distribution of the supreme powers of the State. But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconvenience is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit. It may even be necessary to guard against dangerous encroachments by still further precautions. As the weight of the legislative authority requires that it should be thus divided, the weakness of the executive may require, on the other hand, that it should be fortified.”

It seems as if the author took influence from the writings of Montesquieu, who argued that a divided, branched government would set a balance of power that would be harder to break in favor of a tyrannical government. In this passage, the division of government is the “remedy” for potential “dangerous encroachment” and it gives more security for the function of each branch. Our government works because power is split between the three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. This helps keep our government in place through the system of checks and balances.

“It can be little doubted that if the State of Rhode Island was separated from the Confederacy and left to itself, the insecurity of rights under the popular form of government within such narrow limits would be displayed by such reiterated oppressions of factious majorities that some power altogether independent of the people would soon be called for by the voice of the very factions whose misrule had proved the necessity of it. In the extended republic of the United States, and among the great variety of interests, parties, and sects which it embraces, a coalition of a majority of the whole society could seldom take place on any other principles than those of justice and the general good; whilst there being thus less danger to a minor from the will of a major party, there must be less pretext, also, to provide for the security of the former, by introducing into the government a will not dependent on the latter, or, in other words, a will independent of the society itself.”

A government cannot function if one section doesn’t agree to follow or honor the agreed upon “popular form of government.” The author gives the theoretical example of if Rhode Island leaves the Confederacy, there’s no doubt that the government will fail. Our government now is held together simply because all states are obligated to follow the laws and orders of the national government.