Federalist Paper

Mason Payonk
Professor Travaline
American Government
17 February 2014
Federalist 76 and 77 Since breaking off from the British Monarchy, the American people wanted to be as far away from a dictatorship as possible. One of the main complaints regarding the newly proposed constitution was the potential strength of the Executive Branch. In Federalist papers 76 and 77, Alexander Hamilton give several reasons as to why the Executive power would be limited in power. Alexander Hamilton places a lot of emphasis on the Appointments clause, which was the power of the President to appoint influential government officials such as Supreme Court justices and cabinet members. He explained to readers that there is a major check on this Presidential power, which is the Senate’s duty of denying the appointments. Not only did Hamilton assure the readers that the President’s power would be balanced, but he also explained that a true test of a good government is it’s tendency to produce a good administration. Therefore, with all these checks put into place, America had the potential of creating a perfectly balanced and supreme government. He also explained that since the Senate had the power to reject these nominees, it would make way for the fittest politicians. Instead of the President just being able to appoint any body he wants, he would have to compromise with the other branch of government. In Federalist paper 77, Hamilton again talks much about the Appointments clause, but this time, instead of laying out what it does and how it will work, he attempts to ensure readers that it will create an efficient government. The power of the senate to discard the presidential appointments will provide stability to the administration. Because Senate members serve longer terms than the President, as well as an unlimited amount, the ability of the president to add a radical or begin a branch revolution would be nearly impossible because the Senate would continuously reject the appointments. Hamilton then goes on to talk about the other powers that the president has such as reporting to them what he thought needs to be done through regular communication and the State of the Union. He also brings up his ability to call special sessions of Congress. This power is the President’s ability to check Congress. If they are refusing to get things done and continuously butting heads, the executive can force them into session in times where they normally wouldn’t be. Ultimately, Hamilton wanted to convey to the national public that newly proposed branches of government would not overpower each other. The provisions that the founding fathers had laid out in the constitution ensured that one branch could not become supreme over the other. Major decisions such as Presidential appointments could not create an unfair advantage because they were forced to be checked by the Senate. Just like the other Federalist papers, 76 and 77 were Hamilton’s attempt to justify things that the Anti-federalists were not optimistic about.