In Essay #60, Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members, Alexander Hamilton addresses the concern that leaving the regulation of elections to the Union may favor only an elite, small class of people.
That concern was that the national government may conspire to hold elections in only parts of the states populated by the wealthy, thus preventing lower income citizens from voting.
Hamilton rejects this concern on several grounds, including:
- such places do not exist—that is, the rich are scattered throughout the states;
- the American people would never tolerate such behavior by the national government;
- the separation of powers between the House, the Senate and the president would make it much more difficult for the national government to conspire against the states;
- each branch has such different sources of power, it would be highly unlikely for them to all represent a particular class of people or faction.
This Essay highlights the primacy of the separation of powers to the American form of government.
Credit for the summary and analysis of Essay #60 is given to Brittany Nelson and Christopher Higgins (second revision 09/15/2011). Weinbloom, Elizabeth ed. “The Federalist Papers Essay #60 Summary and Analysis”. GradeSaver, 30 December 2011 Web. 15 February 2019.
You can read a summary and analysis of Essay #60 by clicking HERE.