51, titled: "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments", is an essay written by James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, the fifty-first of The Federalist Papers.

One of the main ways that Federalist 51 was able to encourage checks and balances was by emphasizing that the "preservation of liberty" was the end to which civil society aims.

Political philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau [citation needed] had ideas that related to this proposal.

Further, the idea of representative democracy as a method of establishing these checks and balances is a pivotal component to the federalist paper, mostly because it helps explain how the different branches of government will be put into place.

The idea of checks and balances existed in other countries, prior to the establishment of this system in the United States, suggesting that the idea of the political separation of powers and of checks and balances in government that was implemented in the United States is a universal concept that is concrete in political theory.

The Federalist papers, as a foundation text of constitutional interpretation, are commonly cited by American jurists and court systems in general.

51 is, according to Madison, to inform the reader of the safeguards created by the convention to maintain the separate branches of government and to protect the rights of the people and of the country.

[2] Madison discusses at great length the issue of political factions and their ability to allow the oppression of the minority opinion by the majority.

He recognizes that this first option can also lead to injustices, so the best solution is for society to have a multitude of different groups and classes to prevent tyranny.