Federalist No. 46

Summary

Madison argues that the federal government could never subdue the states by force, because any federal army would be vastly outnumbered by a militia drawn from an armed population attached to their own local governments. He contrasts this with European states whose governments are afraid to trust their people with arms.

Key Passage

Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.

What It Says

An armed population combined with functioning state governments makes federal military coercion impractical. Madison treats both as load-bearing parts of the same barrier.

What It Protects Against

Federal military force turned against the states or the people.

Problem Addressed

Anti-Federalists argued that the new government’s power to raise armies would eventually be used against the states themselves.