Read the quote from James Madison. If men were angels, no government would be necessary. . . . In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself. The main idea that Madison addresses in this passage is why the US government
Madison says that if people were perfectly good, government would not be necessary. But because people are not angels, government is needed to keep order; it must also be designed to limit its own power. Thus, the main idea is that the US government is needed.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.