Why does the American form of government work?

The American form of government is not one simple ordinary orchestrated system that works with minial pieces holding it together. Our form of government is complexly held together by a string of parts that are equally important and without one, the system becomes corrupt and will swing towards the extremes of the political spectrum.

In the Federalist Article #10 by James Madison, he explains about how government can stop the meddling of the different factions.

"There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.It could never be more truly said than of the first remedy, that it was worse than the disease. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency."

"The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States. A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the Confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source. A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State. "

James Madison is saying the ways he thinks would help the relationship of the government and the different factions. He believes that the government can either destroy liberty or give the citizens more liberty. He truely believes that it would be really stupid to abolish liberty, which is essential, but it would change the spectrum into a "destructive agency" (or Corruption). His idea of abolishing liberty to the factions, he thinks is logical, but it would not do much good. he calls it a "disease". Madison's two ideas are both ways to remove the factions and their liberties in society, but realize that both ways might not work well in the long term. Removing the liberty of factions will trigger outrage from the people, politcal disputes and also will be creating tyranny. Madison explains how the way the factions will be seperated will stop the uprisings, he says that the seperate factions might be able to start an uprising within a state, but not in the country with all the centralized power in the government. His thoughts will become a better, and bigger state that are stronger than the states.

Also by Madison, Federalist Article #51 talks about how the government needs to be checked in order to prevent a tyranny or assumption of power.

"First. In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself."  

Madison also said that "But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit. It may even be necessary to guard against dangerous encroachments by still further precautions. As the weight of the legislative authority requires that it should be thus divided, the weakness of the executive may require, on the other hand, that it should be fortified. An absolute negative on the legislature appears, at first view, to be the natural defense with which the executive magistrate should be armed. But perhaps it would be neither altogether safe nor alone sufficient. On ordinary occasions it might not be exerted with the requisite firmness, and on extraordinary occasions it might be perfidiously abused. May not this defect of an absolute negative be supplied by some qualified connection between this weaker department and the weaker branch of the stronger department, by which the latter may be led to support the constitutional rights of the former, without being too much detached from the rights of its own department?"

In article 51, Madison talks about the citizens surrendering their power to be protected by a multi-branch government. The power given by the citizens would be split up so no single department/branch would be able to be too powerful. He realizes that there would be no way to fully make power equal, but he thinks that a system in which all parts and departments would be able to correct each other if they get too powerful. Each would control each other, and it would control itself. His idea is a self sufficient government that relies on each other to create a stable and existing government that would equally be represented and equally powerful. He says that the government itself cannot be equally divided into the powers, but it is able to be self-sufficient and also able to govern and not be too weak. He says that the connection between the branches might be weak, but powers will be able to balance out and protect the equality of the people and the branches of government. He realizes that the government relies on natural defenses. Where the weight of the government and the people be balanced in order for the government to not collide with the public and fall.