"In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each is subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself."
—The Federalist No. 51
Use the passage to answer the question.
This excerpt was written to
A.
convince people that the Constitution contained safeguards against government becoming too strong.
B.
convince people that the power they gave up would be used wisely by a central government.
C.
remind people that the concept of popular sovereignty was written into the Constitution.
D.
remind people that the government must always be subject to majority rule.
A. convince people that the Constitution contained safeguards against government becoming too strong.
A. Convince people that the Constitution contained safeguards against government becoming too strong.
The answer to this question can be found by closely examining the provided passage from The Federalist No. 51. In this passage, the author explains the structure of the government in the compound republic of America by stating that power is divided between two distinct governments, which are then further divided among separate departments. The author asserts that this division of power provides a double security to the rights of the people, as the different governments will control each other, while also being controlled by themselves.
Given this information, we can conclude that the passage was written to convince people that the Constitution contained safeguards against the government becoming too strong. The author emphasizes the concept of dividing and balancing power as a means of protecting individual rights and preventing any single government or department from becoming dominant. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is A.