Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugural address for president of the United States of America in 1801, declared: “Everyone. . . they will keep in mind this sacred principle according to which, although the will of the majority must prevail in any case, this will must be reasonable to be legitimate; that the minority possesses equal rights, which an equal law must protect and to violate would be oppression (Inaugural Speeches, 1989).” Jefferson wasn't the only one who thought so. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and others understood that the unbridled power of the majority, which is the lifeblood of a democracy, could easily be used to ignore or degrade the rights of a minority group. The framers of our nation intended the protection of minority rights against the “tyranny of the majority” to be an ardent duty of the federal government. James Madison, under the pen name Publius, wrote carefully about the balance between majority rule and protection of minority rights in The Federalist, a group of historically important articles published to gain support for the proposed United States Constitution. In Federalist Paper number fifty-one, Madison explains his concern for the reduction of minority rights: “It is of great importance in a republic not only to defend itself from the oppression of its rulers, but to protect a part of society from the oppressive injustice of other. There are necessarily different interests in different classes of citizens. If a majority is united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure (Hamilton, et al, p. 358)." Madison, like other fellow founders, also warns that there must be a balance in the protection of minority rights In The Federalist Paper number twenty-two, Madison writes: “To give a mi...... half of the paper……i, Theodore, Margaret 2011. We The People: An Introduction to American Politics New York, NY: WW Norton and Company CHECK FORMAT APAWashington, H.A. 1861. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://www.yamaguchy.com/library/jefferson/jarvis.html. United States Department of Justice. USA PATRIOT Act? Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm.American Civil Liberties Union: June 19, 2008. HR 6304, The FISA Amendment Acts of 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2012 from http://www.aclu.org/national-security/hr-6304-fisa-amendments-act-2008. Inaugural speeches by the presidents of the United States. Washington, DC: USGPO: For Sale by Supt. of documents, USGPO, 1989; Bartleby.com, 2001. Retrieved February 28, 2012, from www.bartleby.com/124/.