Polity Atlas
BookPrimary source

The Federalist No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments

James Madison · New York Packet (via Yale Law School Avalon Project) · 1788

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Type
Book
Author
James Madison
Accessed
2026-09-01

Claims citing this source

1 claims
EstablishedMontesquieu's De l'esprit des lois (1748) argued that liberty is endangered when legislative and executive power are united. In The Federalist Nos. 47 and 51 Madison adapted the idea to the US Constitution as a system of partly overlapping powers that check one another rather than complete separation.