Federalist No. 20

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Federalist No. 20
Gilbert Stuart, James Madison, c. 1821, NGA 56914.jpg
James Madison, author of Federalist No. 20
Author James Madison
Original titleThe Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union
LanguageEnglish
Series The Federalist
PublisherNew York Packet
Publication date
December 11, 1787
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeNewspaper
Preceded by Federalist No. 19  
Followed by Federalist No. 21  

Federalist No. 20 is an essay by James Madison, the twentieth of The Federalist Papers . It was first published by The New York Packet on December 11, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. No. 20 addresses the failures of the Articles of Confederation to satisfactorily govern the United States; it is the last of six essays on this topic. It is titled "The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union".

Contents

Summary

Parallels are drawn with the Dutch Republic system of Stadholdership.

The Patriottentijd, its causes and its denouement in the Prussian intervention were of great interest to Madison. [1] After a description and analysis of the constitution of the Dutch Republic, the paper characterizes it as an example to avoid:

Such is the nature of the celebrated Belgic [Note 1] confederacy, as delineated on parchment. What are the characters which practice has stamped upon it? Imbecility in the government; discord among the provinces; foreign influence and indignities; a precarious existence in peace, and peculiar calamities from war.

The Paper explicitly refers to the Prussian invasion of Holland. [2] Apparently the news of its success had not yet reached the U.S. by the time of the paper's publication, as the wording leaves the hope open that the Patriots will prevail:

The first wish prompted by humanity is, that this severe trial may issue in such a revolution of their government as will establish their union, and render it the parent of tranquillity, freedom and happiness.

Notes

  1. ↑ In those days it was an often used trope to refer to the Netherlands with the Latin name Foederatae Belgii Provinciae, hence the adjective "Belgic".

References

  1. ↑ Schama, pp. 143-153
  2. ↑ Dalberg-Acton, John (1904). The Cambridge Modern History. Volume VIII: The French Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 288–289. Retrieved April 18, 2016.

Sources


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