The Constitutional Structure of Government: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
November 30-December 2, 2012
July 10-12, 2013
In Federalist 51, James Madison writes: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Although every American knows that the Constitution created a national government with three independent branches, we do not necessarily know why the framers chose to do this. Why did Madison think that ambition should counteract ambition? What purposes are served by not only separating power but also by creating a system in which the exercise of power is so frequently blocked by another branch? This seminar explores these questions and more through primary source documents and early case studies.