The Federalist Papers. Chris discusses the historic documents that
were written to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The Federalist # 46,
attributed to James Madison, specifically confronts the concerns about the contrast
of powers between the States and the Federal Government. Some of Madison's analysis
seems almost prophetic, as he suggests that the only way the Federal government
could gain too much power would be if the people were to "... elect an uninterrupted
succession of men ready to betray both (the States and the people) ..." Madison goes on
to say that to accomplish this, the succession of "traitors" would need to "uniformly
and systematically pursue some fixed plan for the extension of the military establishment."
With this in mind, one considers the warning by President Eisenhower about the threat
of the Military Industrial Complex. Is Madison's prediction coming to pass?