James Madison wrote Federalist No. 10, the essay defending a large republic against factional conflict.
Federalist No. 10 was published on November 22, 1787, under the shared pen name Publius. It appeared in a series of essays supporting ratification of the proposed United States Constitution.
Madison argued that factions were unavoidable because people held different interests and opinions. He maintained that a large republic containing many competing interests would make it harder for any single faction to dominate the government.
The essay is one of the best-known Federalist Papers and is frequently studied in discussions of pluralism, representative government, and constitutional design. Alexander Hamilton wrote the largest number of the essays, but Madison authored Federalist No. 10 and Federalist No. 51.