Your opinion on certain public policies may differ from mine or that of your neighbors, but who is to say that this is not acceptable? According to the Dictionary Reference, “The Federalist Papers were a compilation of eighty-five essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to persuade the voters of New York to adopt the Constitution. » (Publishing & Turner, 1995) The constitution is the supreme law of the land. Many Americans were still wary of a strong central government in the late 1780s, so these articles were written to explain the reasoning, inevitability, and necessity of each article of the Constitution. Federalist Paper Number 10 is important because it explores the problem of factions fighting and tearing a country apart. According to James Madison's Federalist Article 10, "by factions...a number of citizens, whether they constitute a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by a common impulse of passion or interest, opposed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and global interests of the community. (Roland, 1998) Since the late 1700s when the formation of political parties began, people have come together based on similar views or opinions, otherwise known in the political world as factions. Factions created political parties, factions also created freedom. Madison asserted that there were two methods of alleviating the evils of faction: removing its causes or controlling its effects. “There are still two methods of eliminating the causes of faction: one by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving each citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and middle of paper ......ist n° 10: The usefulness of the Union as a safeguard against internal factions and Insurrection (continued ). Retrieved from Constitution Society: http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm Roland, J. (1998, October 18). The Federalist No. 51, The structure of government must provide appropriate checks and balances between different departments. From Constitution Society: http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htmGeorge Washington: “Farewell Address,” September 19, 1796. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=65539.American Congress. Senate. Washington's Farewell Address. 105th Congress, 2nd sess., 1998. S. Doc.105-22. United States Department of State: Officer of the Historian. Washington's Farewell Address. Milestones: 1784-1800. Dr. Steven Randolph. http://history.state.gov/about