Federalist 10 and Brutus 1 compared

Madison and Brutus disagree about size. In Federalist 10, Madison argues that a small republic is where factions do the most harm: with few interests in play, one faction can easily become a majority and run over everyone else. Extending the republic across a large territory brings in so many competing interests that no single majority faction is likely to form. That is the first column of B.

Brutus 1 takes the Anti-Federalist side. Drawing on Montesquieu, Brutus argues that a free republic can only last in a small territory where the people share interests and can watch their representatives, and that one government over so vast a country would drift toward tyranny. That is the second column of B.

Each wrong choice gets at least one of the two authors wrong, so check both halves before picking.

Each choice

• A. Madison does treat faction as rooted in liberty and human nature, so the first half is close. The second half fails: Brutus was an Anti-Federalist who warned against a strong national government, not one who asked for it.
• B (correct). Madison says a large republic tames faction because small ones are easily captured by a majority, and Brutus says only a small republic can stay free and stable.
• C. Brutus did worry that a distant national government would lose touch with the people, but Madison's cure for faction is a large representative republic, not power gathered in the executive.
• D. Madison says the causes of faction cannot be removed but its effects can be controlled, so the first half reverses him. Brutus feared consolidated power and tyranny, not anarchy.