In the Articles of Confederation, a unitary system of government consisting of a single house legislature which represented each state equal was the only federal decision making branch. The Constitution sought to divide the powers among several branches who could check each other if one was to over step their boundaries.

The Articles of Confederation allowed for the government systems allowed too much power to reside in the hands of the people. Majority factions could take power and pass legislation that benefited their interest and ruined the minority factions. In other cases, the minority factions would take power and rule over the minority like a dictator. The fix to this astounding problem in the early States was to divide the power equally among the factions. The creditors would hold power and the debtors. More specifically the House of Representatives would be elected by the people while the Senate would be appointed by the states until the 17th Amendment in 1913. The 17th Amendment allowed for the people to democratically elect senators and is often argued as giving too much power to the majority and removing power from the minority. Another example of this is the Electoral College that is used to elect the President of the United States of America. The Electoral College is a group of elites delegated by each state to vote for one of the two presidential candidates. While the majority of American citizens vote for a presidential candidate, the Electoral College, in the end, decides the president. Overall, the Federalist had to find a balance between giving the majority too much democracy and taking away too much of their democracy.

Federalist 10: "To secure the public good, and private rights, against the danger of such a faction, and at the same to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed." (303).