Federalist Papers Argues on Term Limits For Senators and Representatives

Federalist Papers Argues on Term Limits For Senators and RepresentativesThomas Jefferson and James Madison produced the Federalist Papers, arguing for the balanced power between the federal government and the states. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton argued that the states must be kept in check and rejected the authority of the federal government. John Jay and George Mason were the main advocates of what is called the theory of limited government.The Federalist Papers argues for what is referred to as the existence of separation of powers. The separation of powers refers to the differences between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. In Jefferson's words, the house of representatives was there to determine laws passed by the government, while the president was the head of the executive branch and provided the laws.James Madison believed the president should have his own personal agenda, but he said he would always work for the people of the United States first. President Thomas Jefferson stated that it was a key element to the formation of the Constitution that the United States was based on the belief that the people govern themselves. John Jay stated that a large government may get off course and its checks and balances may fail.The General Assembly attempted to prevent these runaway actions of the president because the General Assembly lacked the power to impeach a president for misconduct. In the case of Andrew Jackson, his abuse of office was considered to be misconduct and Jackson was impeached. He was found guilty by the House and removed from office.Some state politicians see the situation today in the same light that the General Assembly saw. The most famous example of this is the state of Arizona, which tried to impeach the governor and Senate President for ignoring the legislative branch in the passing of SB 1070. Although the Senate President was found guilty, he was still removed from office because the state legislatur e failed to pass a bill to override the Senate President's removal from office.The Federalist Papers argued for term limits for senators, governors, and representatives. However, a member of the legislature in New York argued against term limits because of the fact that the members of the assembly would always be more entrenched in power than the state legislature. This is also true with a political party, which would need to be replaced.Because of the state legislatures, legislatures always have more control over the executive branch. Additionally, the federal government has the power to tax. If we are electing the president, senators, and congressmen, the power to tax or enact any law should not be in the hands of the legislature.The argument for congressional term limits for senators and representatives is that it will ensure stability. It is possible that term limits are unrealistic, but at least we can keep our power in check, which is what the American people want.