View source for Federalist No. 53

{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Short description|Federalist Paper by James Madison on the House of Representatives}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}
{{More sources needed|date=March 2009}}
{{Infobox book
| author            = [[James Madison]]
| language          = English
| series            = ''[[The Federalist Papers|The Federalist]]''
| publisher         = New York Packet
| pub_date          = February 12, 1788
| media_type        = Newspaper
| preceded_by       = [[Federalist No. 52]]
| followed_by       = [[Federalist No. 54]]
| image             = Gilbert Stuart, James Madison, c. 1821, NGA 56914.jpg
| image_caption     = James Madison, author of Federalist No. 53
| country           = United States
| title_orig        = The Same Subject Continued: The House of Representatives
}}
'''Federalist No. 53'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Drexler |first=Ken |title=Research Guides: Federalist Papers: Primary Documents in American History: Federalist Nos. 51-60 |url=https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-51-60 |access-date=2023-02-17 |website=guides.loc.gov |language=en}}</ref> is an essay by [[James Madison]], the fifty-third of ''[[The Federalist Papers]]''. It was published in the ''New York Packet'' on February 12, 1788,[https://archive.csac.history.wisc.edu/53.pdf] under the [[pseudonym]] [[Federalist Papers#Origins|Publius]], the name under which all ''The Federalist'' papers were published. This essay is the second of two examining the structure of the [[United States House of Representatives]] under the proposed [[United States Constitution]]. It is titled "'''The Same Subject Continued: The House of Representatives'''".
[[Anti-Federalism|Anti-federalists]] had argued that one-year House terms would be more "[[democracy|democratic]]" or "[[Representative democracy|representative]]" than longer terms. Defending the two-year terms adopted in the Constitution, Madison argues that Representatives in the House will need some knowledge of national affairs (how things work in the different states), as well as some minimal knowledge of [[foreign affairs]]. Because experience in the House counts here, two-year terms are appropriate.
Madison also argued that one-year House terms would increase the amount of [[election fraud]] in the [[election]] of Representatives. His reasoning was that it takes a while for election fraud to come to light. If the elections were annual, a representative could buy an election and serve most of his term before the fraud came to light.
==References==
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== External links ==
{{wikisource|The_Federalist_Papers/No._53|Federalist No. 53}}
* [https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers#TheFederalistPapers-53 Text of The Federalist No. 53]: [[congress.gov]]
{{Federalist Papers}}
[[Category:1788 in American law]]
[[Category:Federalist Papers by James Madison|53]]
[[Category:1788 in the United States]]
[[Category:1788 essays]]
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