The Federalist Papers

Having written very generally about the purpose and powers of the federal government under the Constitution, Madison turns to the particulars of the document and its administration, starting with the House of Representatives. Of paramount concern to him are the qualifications of the representatives and the qualifications of those who elect them. Concerning the representatives themselves, they must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least seven years, and an inhabitant of the state they represent. They will be up for reelection every two years, which Madison says will keep them sympathetic to the will of their constituents. To counter objections that two years is too long, he points to numerous examples in both Europe and colonial America of elections held up to every seven years which did not tend to curtail liberty to a significant degree.

Returning to the objection that two years is too long an interval between elections of representatives, Madison quotes critics who say “that where annual elections end, tyranny begins” (272). However, Madison writes that there is no evidence to show that Connecticut, which elects legislators every six months, is better governed than South Carolina, which elects legislators every two years.