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1 1 (March 12, 2021)

handle is hein.amenin/aeiadtm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Key Points SSince the raticaticon debates of 1787-88, critics of the Constitution have when corn- paned that is elaborate nerwork of checks and balances undermines democratic accountaility and stifles true republican gnsvemmenL SThese critics have failed to appreciate that the founcer designed the system to secure consensus. h me 6muders beieved hat policy proposals represering a strong, broad, and durable maority were more like`y to be in the public interest and thus shouid be priviieged over policies acked by smrnalIler, narrow, or fleeting riorities. * So whil the Constitution s design can seem perplexing and byzantine, its rules never- theiess are intended to force society to achieve consensus as a preiude to government policy. The United States federal government is a compli- cated sy'stem of interlocking brandles, widely dis-- persed powers, and confIsing lines of authority No other feat.re of the Aneican svsterm has attracted more Criticism. During the ratification debates of 1787-88, Anti -Federalhst critics of the Constitution complaired tht it was overcomplicated, too diff'i-- cult fSr tle average person to understand, and thu l kely to be dominated by economic and social elites. They believed republics should be simple in design s: the people can exercise their soveregnty' Progressives such as Woodrow Wilson offered similar critiques from the end of the ti century into the earlyth century. Progressives in the 1st century echo these older grievanes when they talk about how the Constitution, through its intricate array of checks and balances, thwarts democracy As it is, none of the Feaderalist' Pprs, written by Alexander iaiilton, James Madison, and John Jay in defense of the Constituti-n, offer a comprehen- sive response to this critique. Punlius, the nom de plume they used to plish the f ssays, focuses on the need for a national union and then a more detailed defense of particular governmenta isti- vutions-as these were the main critiques leveled by the oprponents to the Con stitucti in 1787--88. One may be forgiven, therefore, in thinking that the whole of the Constitu ion is less than the sum of its parts and that there is not an underlying logic that animates the creation of not just a national union but also this specific form of a union, How- ever, there is a unifyng2 principle to the constitu- tional system, one grounded in the framers' partic- ular understanding of republican governinent. The system is purpo'seful in its demand that consensus 'N \

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