The Federalist Papers
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In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay made
the case for ratifying the new US Constitution.
Overview
The Federalist Papers was a collection of essays written by John Jay,
James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton in 1788.
The essays urged the ratification of the United States Constitution, which
had been debated and drafted at the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia in 1787.
The Federalist Papers is considered one of the most significant American
contributions to the field of political philosophy and theory and is still
widely considered to be the most authoritative source for determining the
original intent of the framers of the US Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation and
Constitutional Convention
Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government did not have the
power to regulate interstate commerce, nor was it authorized to raise
taxes. Shays’s Rebellion, an uprising of farmers from western Massachusetts
demanding an end to what they perceived as the unjust economic policies
and political corruption of the state legislature in Boston, had revealed the
inability of the federal government to put down the insurgency. It provided
further evidence in support of the view that the very survival of the young
nation required strengthening the federal government.
To this end, 55 delegates from twelve states convened in Philadelphia from
May 25 to September 17, 1787 for the Constitutional Convention, which
assumed as its primary task the replacement of the Articles of Confederation.
The United States Constitution emerged out of a series of compromises on a
number of acrimonious debates over the structure and functions of the
federal government.
But before the Constitution could enter into force, it had to be ratified, or
formally approved by the assemblies of at least nine of the twelve states
represented at the convention. The most serious opposition to ratification was
based in the states of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist was originally planned to be a series of essays for publication
in New York City newspapers, but ultimately expanded into a collection of 85
essays, which were published as two volumes in March and May 1788. They
did not become known as "The Federalist Papers" until the 20th century. The
essays were aimed at convincing opponents of the US Constitution to ratify it
so that it would take effect as the nation’s fundamental governing document.
(Opponents of the Constitution drafted their own series of essays, which
became known collectively as the Anti-Federalist Papers.)
A 1787 newspaper advertisement for The Federalist. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
The essays comprising the Federalist Papers were authored by John Jay,
Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, three of the most influential
nationalist thinkers. The nationalists urged the creation of a stronger central
government that would be sufficiently empowered to confront the many
challenges facing the young nation. Though the authors primarily sought to
influence the vote in favor of ratifying the Constitution, Federalist No.
1 framed the debate in much broader terms, by questioning “whether
societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government
from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for
their political constitutions on accident and force.”
Portrait of John Jay, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers. Painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1794.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Many of the most influential essays in The Federalist were penned by either
Hamilton or Madison:
In Federalist No. 10, Madison reflects on how to prevent rule by majority
faction and advocates the expansion of the United States into a large,
commercial republic.
In Federalist No. 39 and Federalist 51, Madison seeks to “lay a due
foundation for that separate and distinct exercise of the different powers
of government, which to a certain extent is admitted on all hands to be
essential to the preservation of liberty,” emphasizing the need for checks
and balances through the separation of powers into three branches of the
federal government and the division of powers between the federal
government and the states.
In Federalist No. 84, Hamilton advances the case against the Bill of
Rights, expressing the fear that explicitly enumerated rights could too
easily be construed as comprising the only rights to which American
citizens were entitled.
Although the primary purpose of The Federalist was to convince New Yorkers
to send to the Constitutional Convention delegates who would vote to ratify
the Constitution, fully two-thirds of New York’s delegates initially opposed
ratification. These delegates refused to ratify the document unless it was
amended by a Bill of Rights. Thus, the authors of The Federalist failed in their
original objective.
Nevertheless, The Federalist Papers is widely considered to be the most
significant American contribution to the field of political philosophy and theory
and is held up by scholars, lawyers, and judges to be the most authoritative
source for determining the original intent of the framers of the US
Constitution.
What do you think?
What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers? Was that purpose achieved?
Why do you think The Federalist was published anonymously? Why wouldn’t
the authors want to reveal themselves?
Which of the essays in The Federalist do you think was most important and
why?
[Notes and attributions]
Questions Tips & Thanks
