In Essay #76, The Appointing Power of the Executive, Alexander Hamilton defends the power of the President to appoint public officials with the advice and consent of the senate.
Hamilton argues that there are three ways appointments could be made
- By a single man (might result in favoritism and corruption clouding the selection of officers);
- By a selected assembly (likely to be subject to the influence of faction and partisanship, making difficult any impartial selection of officers on the basis of merit);
- By a single man with approval of a selected assembly (best strategy for avoiding these defects)
Hamilton had hoped that giving the Senate power to approve presidential appointees would serve as a check on corruption – to no avail.
Credit for the summary and analysis of Essay #76 is given to Brittany Nelson and Christopher Higgins (second revision 09/15/2011). Weinbloom, Elizabeth ed. “The Federalist Papers Essay #76 Summary and Analysis”. GradeSaver, 30 December 2011 Web. 19 February 2019.
You can read a summary and analysis of Essay #76 by clicking HERE.