When embarking on creating the American republic, the Founding Fathers faced a distinct set of problems which they needed to overcome in order to make the new Constitution work. They were also animated by innovative principles that aided them in overcoming the difficulties they perceived.

            Among the problems the Framers identified is the need to balance the virtues of justice and moderation; Federalists 1 and 37 are pleas for moderation, in which Publius cautions against justice alone being taken too far and resulting in a perfectionist idea of a political system which disregards practical difficulties as well as the well-intentioned errors and prejudices of men on all sides of a debate. In designing a real-world political system, statesmen need to know what is achievable and set realistic expectations.           

                   Furthermore, the balance of virtues can be endangered by passions and interests, and a just government needs to be based on the rule of reason over passion (Federalist 51). The peculiar challenges of the Framers included combining energy and stability of government with liberty and the republican form; furthermore, the Framers encountered difficulties in specifically delineating between the powers of the general government and those of the states; the fallibility of human reason, the artificial nature of political objects, and the imperfections of language compounded these difficulties (Federalist 37).

            In designing the new form of government, the framers made use of improvements in the science of politics that Publius mentions in Federalist 9: the regular distribution of power into distinct departments, the introduction of legislative checks and balances, the institution of courts composed of judges holding their offices during good behavior, the representation of the people in the legislature by deputies of their own election, and the enlargement of the orbit within which such systems are to revolve.

            The Framers recognized that virtue—both in the people and in the government officials—was necessary for a just government to operate, but they did not consider virtue sufficient. In Federalist 51, Publius writes that “government is the greatest of all reflections on all human nature.”

            The fact that neither the rulers nor the governed are angelic necessitates both government and checks on government—which virtue alone cannot provide. Rather, “auxiliary precautions” are needed by which the separate departments of power are distributed so as to provide checks against each other even in the absence of virtuous motives on the part of the government officials. Another primary concern of the framers, however, was how to ensure that the most virtuous and qualified men hold office in government.

G. Stolyarov II is a science fiction novelist, independent philosophical essayist, poet, amateur mathematician, composer, contributor to Enter Stage Right, Le Quebecois Libre,  Rebirth of Reason, and the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Senior Writer for The Liberal Institute, weekly columnist for GrasstopsUSA.com, and Editor-in-Chief of The Rational Argumentator, a magazine championing the principles of reason, rights, and progress. Mr. Stolyarov also publishes his articles on Helium.com and Associated Content to assist the spread of rational ideas. His newest science fiction novel is Eden against the Colossus. His latest non-fiction treatise is A Rational Cosmology. His most recent play is Implied Consent. Mr. Stolyarov can be contacted at gennadystolyarovii@yahoo.com.

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Read Mr. Stolyarov's new comprehensive treatise, A Rational Cosmology, explicating such terms as the universe, matter, space, time, sound, light, life, consciousness, and volition, here.

Read Mr. Stolyarov's new four-act play, Implied Consent, a futuristic intellectual drama on the sanctity of human life, here.