Federalist No. 55

Author	James Madison or Alexander Hamilton
Original title	The Total Number of the House of Representatives
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Federalist
Publisher	New York Packet
Publication date	February 13, 1788
Media type	Newspaper
Preceded by	Federalist No. 54
Followed by	Federalist No. 56

Federalist No. 55 is an essay attributed sometimes to either James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, the fifty-fifth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published by The New York Packet on February 13, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. It is titled "The Total Number of House of Representatives". It is the first of four papers defending the number of members in the House of Representatives against the critics who believe the number of members to be inadequate. The critics presume that there aren't enough representatives to defend the country against the small group of legislators who are violating the rights of the people.

The essay addresses critics' objections to the relatively small size of the House of Representatives (sixty-five members). Those concerns are that a relatively small group of legislators might not provide adequate protection against the potential for them to act corruptly. With so few legislators to safeguard the public interest, some were concerned that some might put their own interests with above those of the nation. The essay provides reasons that the ratifiers should not be concerned.

Background

The Articles of Confederation that the Constitution sought to replace had a unicameral legislature. It had been agreed to only after consensus was achieved by including language guaranteeing that each state retained its sovereignty, including language stating that votes in Congress would be en bloc by state. The unicameral legislature was limited and clearly delineated powers.

Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives is one of Congress' two chambers. Duties are distributed between the House and the United States Senate. The House is responsible for originating bills that authorize the appropriation of funds.. Each Representative is elected to a two-year term.

The number of voting Representatives is now fixed at 435, proportionally representing the population of the fifty states in the United States of America. The Representatives introduce bills and resolutions, and they serve on Committees and offer amendments.

Number of Representatives

Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution provides for both the minimum and maximum sizes for the House of Representatives. Currently, there are five delegates representing the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, The Virgin Islands, and northern Mariana Islands. Puerto Rico is represented by a resident commissioner. The delegates and resident commissioner possess the same powers as other members of the House, except that they may not vote when the House is meeting as the House of Representatives.

Congress has the power to regulate the size of the House of Representatives, and the size of the House has varied through the years due to the admission of new states and reapportionment following a census. The House of Representatives began with sixty-five members and now, consists of 435 members.

Year	1789	1791	1793	1803	1813	1815	1817	1819	1821	1833	1835	1843	1845	1847	1851	1853	1857
Representatives	65	69	105	141	182	183	185	187	213	240	242	223	225	227	233	234	237

Year	1861	1863	1865	1867	1869	1873	1883	1889	1891	1893	1901	1911	1913	1959	1961	1963
Representatives	178	183	191	193	243	293	325	330	333	357	386	391	435	436	437	435

In 1911, Congress passed The Apportionment Act of 1911, also known as Public Law 62–5, which says that the United States House of Representatives can have no more than 435 members. Each state is given at least one representative and the number of representatives per state varies based on population.

Madison's Argument

There is no fixed numeric formula for the ratio between the population and the number of Representatives; the members of the House will increase as new states are added and the population grows. Madison reasons with those who are against the size of the House of Representatives because they do not trust the legislators in the following quote: "The truth is that in all cases a certain number [of representatives] at least seems to be necessary to secure the benefits of free consultation and discussion, and to guard against too easy a combination for improper purposes; as, on the other hand, the number ought at most to be kept within a certain limit, in order to avoid the confusion and intemperance of a multitude. In all very numerous assemblies, of whatever character composed, passion never fails to wrest the scepter from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob."

He tells the public, no republican government can guarantee that it will be completely free of infringement but the people must also have a degree of trust in the government's power to protect them and to ensure the safety of the republic. To further reassure the people, the system of "checks and balances" was put in place to ensure that no branch (the executive, judicial, or legislative) would have more power than the other.

notes that the size of the House will increase as population increases. In addition, he states that the small size does not put the public liberty in danger because of the checks and balances relationship the House of Representatives has with the state legislatures, as well as the fact that every member is voted in by the people every two years.

Authorship

In this paper, Madison examines the size of the United States House of Representatives.

The authorship of this essay is disputed. Textual analysis of the writings of both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison does not definitively assign this text to either one. Madison scholar, Edward Bourne makes no claim for Madison's authorship of this essay. J.C. Hamilton notes similarities between passages in the essay and a speech that Hamilton delivered to the New York Ratifying Convention in June 1788, but since both men would likely have read all the essays, it's not conclusive proof of Hamilton's authorship.

Modern Analysis

Since The Apportionment Act of 1911 was passed, people have been concerned about the laws/ bills that the House of Representatives passes. The House can make laws that create new taxes, it aids in determining the fiscal policy, it guides federal spending and taxation, etc. The laws made by the House have can directly affect the population but as Madison said in the Federalist paper, "Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be, that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another" meaning, the Republican government depends on the virtue/trust of the people. "Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form [of government]."

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Amadeo, Kimberly, "How the US House of Representatives Affects the US Economy," The Balance, October 30, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
• Bourne, Edward G., “The Authorship of the Federalist,” The American Historical Review, II [April, 1897]: 443–60.
• Hamilton, Alexander, or James Madison, "Federalist No. 55," Founders Online, February 12, 1788. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
• "The Federalist Papers," Library of Congress. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
• "The House Explained," The United States House of Representatives. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
• "Maryland finally ratifies Articles of Confederation," A&E Television Networks. Retrieved December 22, 2023.

External links

Link retrieved December 22, 2023.

• Text of The Federalist No. 55: congress.gov

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Federalist No. 55  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Federalist No. 55"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.