# LVI: The Same Subject Continued (The Total Number of the House of Representatives) explained — The Federalist Papers > Chapter companion for The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton. ## What happens Madison defends the proposed size of the House of Representatives against the charge that it will be too small to know the interests of its constituents. He argues that federal legislation primarily concerns commerce, taxation, and the militia, and that a few well-chosen representatives from each state can adequately convey local knowledge. He notes that state laws and the representatives' own experience in state legislatures will further inform federal councils. Drawing on the example of Great Britain, he contends that a ratio of one representative per 30,000 inhabitants is sufficient for both safety and competence. ## Themes in this chapter ### Republican Government and Representation Madison argues that a representative body of moderate size can effectively know and serve the interests of its constituents, a key principle of republican government. ### Human Nature and the Capacity for Self-Government The essay assumes that elected representatives, though few, can acquire sufficient local knowledge and act competently, reflecting confidence in human capacity for self-governance. ## Character check-ins ### Publius Author of the essay, addressing the people of New York to defend the House of Representatives' size. ### James Madison Writes as Publius, arguing that a moderate number of representatives can adequately represent diverse state interests. ### Congress The federal legislative body whose size and knowledge of local interests are under discussion. ## Key lines > It is a sound and important principle that the representative ought to be acquainted with the interests and circumstances of his constituents. A representative should know the interests and conditions of the people they represent. _Madison establishes the foundational principle for representation._ > Divide the largest state into ten or twelve districts, and it will be found that there will be no peculiar local interests in either, which will not be within the knowledge of the representative of the district. If you split the biggest state into ten or twelve districts, each district's representative will know all the local interests there. _Madison argues that even a few representatives can cover local interests within a state._ > The experience of Great Britain, which presents to mankind so many political lessons, both of the monitory and exemplary kind, and which has been frequently consulted in the course of these inquiries, corroborates the result of the reflections which we have just made. The example of Great Britain, offering both warnings and models, supports our conclusions. _Madison uses the British system to bolster his argument about representation._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_federalist_papers_se/chapters/lvi-the-same-subject-continued-the-total-number-of-the-house-of-representatives - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_federalist_papers_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_federalist_papers_se/chapters