During the early formative years of the United States, James Madison helped create many short essays describing what a functioning, well-established government should contain. In the tenth of his Federalist Articles, Madison discusses the harmful, but necessary, existence of factions in political life. Madison states that "the latent causes of factions are sown in the nature of man" (Madison) and that the effects of these factions must be effectively controlled by the implementation of the republican principle. In evaluating four distinct political events, it is remarkable to see the relevance of the ideas presented by James Madison. A national scandal that caused the public to reevaluate the politicians and officials they once thought they knew and trusted occurred in the heart of our nation's capital. James Madison's recognition that the public fears that its liberties will be sacrificed in conflicts between rival parties remains relevant today. The Watergate scandal, involving Attorney General John Mitchell and presidential candidate Richard Nixon, is a superb example of one of these conflicts. The public had reason to fear because, to secure power and influence in political seats, Nixon's party had accepted illegal campaign funds, used repressive executive power to silence those who disagreed with it , had been convicted of burglary at Democratic headquarters. and it was revealed that confidential meetings of the opposing party had been recorded (“Watergate scandal”). These lines of action proved that Nixon had created a faction in which he united with a group of his correspondents to illegally obtain power for his party, whatever the cost. Madison writes: "Middle of paper...in a sive republic, the chances of any group of people being oppressed are greatly reduced and by examining four political events this becomes evident. Works Cited: “The Watergate Scandal.” " World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. July 26, 2011. “Lyndon B. Johnson: Remarks at Signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” The American Mosaic: The Afro-American Experience ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web July 27, 2011. Duhl, Gregory M. “The American Mosaic: The African-American Experience, 2011. Web. Watts, Tim. “Iran Hostage Crisis.” World History: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web July 28, 2011. “Iran Hostage Crisis.” , Intelligence and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Virtual Reference Library. 2011.