A key issue raised by Federalists in their campaign to ratify the United States Constitution, and by Anti-Federalists in their campaign against it, was that of the factions. In The Federalist no. 10, “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Factions and Insurrection,” James Madison defines the dangers of factions and elaborates on the effectiveness of a large representative democracy in dealing with them. In essay no. 3, the anti-Federalist Cato argues that factions are necessary and we must preserve them in big government if we want to prevent individuals from corrupting the system. In modern America, we see the influence of factions – parties – growing every day, instigating rivalries and blocking political progress. Despite the Anti-Federalists' strong arguments, this modern evidence demonstrates that factions have a negative impact on government when they are granted too much power. The factions, or parties, are described in The Federalist no. 10 as groups of citizens “united and guided by some common impulse of passion or interest. According to Madison, these human passions divide the public into competing parties who are “far more willing to irritate and oppress each other than to cooperate for the common good.” These parties often negatively impact the rights of other citizens as they pursue their specific goals, but it is “man's nature” to create them. Therefore, in order to protect people's rights and voices, a successful government must strive to regulate these different factions. A pure (direct) democracy, Madison argues, cannot do this effectively because it gives every citizen a vote on serious public issues, and economic stratification alone prevents... half of the paper......exemptive - it was unfortunately imperfect. The congressmen we have today more often act as the voice of their party (exactly what Madison wanted to avoid) than as the voice of their constituents. This creates instability, allows for a constant power struggle and blocks progress. For this reason, I am inclined to agree wholeheartedly with Madison in his fear of factions, but to differ from his views when it comes to how they should be handled. Although radical, I favor the Anti-Federalists regarding the size of the Union. If America had been made up of only three nations (East, Central, West) or two (North and South), I believe that party politics would be much less controversial than it is now simply because the interests of the people and the congressmen in those regions they are much less diverse. of the interests of the 300 million people who make up this enormous nation.