Analyze the necessity for civic virtue.

While much has been made of the lack of references to morality or virtue in the United States Constitution, it would be a mistake to conclude that the Framers did not believe civic virtue was necessary to the survival of the republic. On the contrary, Madison argued that in the republic to be created by the Constitution, civic virtue was of central importance. In Federalist No. 55 he argued that:

As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust, so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.

In Madison’s view, without civic virtue, all of the structures and precautions of the Constitution, as important as they were, would not be sufficient to safeguard liberty.

In Federalist No. 64, John Jay further emphasized the importance of internal checks on individual behavior. He remarked that “every consideration that can influence the human mind, such as honor, oaths, reputations, conscience, the love of country, and family affections and attachments, afford security of their fidelity.” It is when such considerations fail, he concluded, that the constitutional provisions must be brought to bear on those who violate the public trust. However, it was presumed and hoped that such violations would be rare. If the precautions in the Constitution were the only means of preventing such violations, the Framers would have been much less optimistic about the nation’s future.