Federalist No. 63

{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}

{{Short description|Federalist Paper by James Madison about the US Senate}}

{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}

{{refimprove|date=March 2023}}

{{Infobox book

| author = James Madison

| language = English

| series = The Federalist

| publisher = New York Packet

| pub_date = March 1, 1788

| media_type = Newspaper

| preceded_by = Federalist No. 62

| followed_by = Federalist No. 64

| image = Gilbert Stuart, James Madison, c. 1821, NGA 56914.jpg

| image_caption = James Madison, author of Federalist No. 63

| country = United States

| title_orig = The Senate Continued

}}

Federalist No. 63 is an essay by James Madison, the sixty-third of The Federalist Papers. It was first published by The New York Packet on March 1, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. Continuing what Madison began in Federalist No. 62, it is the second of two essays detailing and justifying the organization of the United States Senate. No. 63 is titled "The Senate Continued". This essay is the last of Madison's contributions to the series.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the American Enlightenment |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury |page=418 |isbn=9780826479693 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdZ4BgAAQBAJ |access-date=21 March 2023}}

In this paper, Madison lays out more reasons for the necessity of the Senate. He argues that the Senate, a strong and the most stable member of the government, is needed to ensure lasting relations with foreign nations. He also notes that because Senators are elected to six-year terms, they will have sufficient time to be responsible for their actions. The Senate can also serve as a check on the people since, although during most times their will is just, they too are "subject to the [periodic] infection of violent passions."

Madison also gives examples of past long-lived republics, all of which had a Senate.{{cite book |title=Classical Antiquity and the Politics of America: From George Washington to George W. Bush |date=2006 |publisher=Baylor University Press |isbn=9781932792324 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5yRGz_EeslQC |access-date=21 March 2023}} They, however, had senates elected for life, which, if followed, could threaten the liberty of the people. It is for this reason that the Senate proposed in the constitution has six-year terms. In this way, the Senate in the Union blends stability with the idea of liberty.