Liberty vs.Order

Government is necessary, but Americans have often harbored a great deal of distrust of it. Thomas Paine, one of the leading American revolutionaries, wrote in Common Sense (1776) that government is a "necessary evil." James Madison put the matter memorably while writing the Constitution. In the first place, Madison wrote, the new government of the United States had to be strong enough to control the governed and to perform the many tasks that would be required of it. In the second place, however, the government would somehow have to be forced to control itself. Creating a government simultaneously powerful and limited required a delicate balancing act. Madison also famously wrote that, if people were angels, no government would be necessary. Precisely because people are far from angelic, some government is essential to protect people from the greed and ambition of some of their fellow citizens.