The Federalist Papers

Last updated
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist (1st ed, 1788, vol I, title page) - 02.jpg
Title page of the first collection of The Federalist (1788). This particular volume was a gift from Alexander Hamilton's wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to her sister Angelica
Authors (all under the pseudonym 'Publius')
Original titleThe Federalist
LanguageEnglish
Publisher
Publication date
October 27, 1787 – May 28, 1788
Publication placeUnited States
Media type
  • Newspaper
  • book

The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The collection was commonly known as The Federalist until the name The Federalist Papers emerged in the twentieth century.

Contents

The first seventy-seven of these essays were published serially in the Independent Journal , the New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser between October 1787 and April 1788. [1] A compilation of these 77 essays and eight others were published in two volumes as The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, by publishing firm J. & A. McLean in March and May 1788. [2] [3] The last eight papers (Nos. 78–85) were republished in the New York newspapers between June 14 and August 16, 1788.

The authors of The Federalist intended to influence the voters to ratify the Constitution. In Federalist No. 1, they explicitly set that debate in broad political terms:

It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, 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. [4]

In Federalist No. 10, Madison discusses the means of preventing rule by majority faction and advocates a large, commercial republic. This is complemented by Federalist No. 14, in which Madison takes the measure of the United States, declares it appropriate for an extended republic, and concludes with a memorable defense of the constitutional and political creativity of the Federal Convention. [5]

In Federalist No. 84, Hamilton makes the case that there is no need to amend the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights, insisting that the various provisions in the proposed Constitution protecting liberty amount to a "bill of rights." [6] Federalist No. 78, also written by Hamilton, lays the groundwork for the doctrine of judicial review by federal courts of federal legislation or executive acts. Federalist No. 70 presents Hamilton's case for a one-man chief executive. In Federalist No. 39, Madison presents the clearest exposition of what has come to be called "Federalism". In Federalist No. 51, Madison distills arguments for checks and balances in an essay often quoted for its justification of government as "the greatest of all reflections on human nature." According to historian Richard B. Morris, the essays that make up The Federalist Papers are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer." [7]

On June 21, 1788, the proposed Constitution was ratified by the minimum of nine states required under Article VII. In late July 1788, with eleven states having ratified the new Constitution, the process of organizing the new government began. [8]

History

Origins

Alexander Hamilton, author of the majority of The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull 1806.jpg
Alexander Hamilton, author of the majority of The Federalist Papers

The Federal Convention (Constitutional Convention) sent the proposed Constitution to the Confederation Congress, which in turn submitted it to the states for ratification at the end of September 1787. On September 27, 1787, "Cato" first appeared in the New York press criticizing the proposition; "Brutus" followed on October 18, 1787. [9] These and other articles and public letters critical of the new Constitution would eventually become known as the "Anti-Federalist Papers". In response, Alexander Hamilton decided to launch a measured defense and extensive explanation of the proposed Constitution to the people of the state of New York. He wrote in Federalist No. 1 that the series would "endeavor to give a satisfactory answer to all the objections which shall have made their appearance, that may seem to have any claim to your attention." [10]

Hamilton recruited collaborators for the project. He enlisted John Jay, who after four essays (Federalist Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5), fell ill and contributed only one more essay, Federalist No. 64, to the series. Jay also distilled his case into a pamphlet in the spring of 1788, An Address to the People of the State of New-York; [11] Hamilton cited it approvingly in Federalist No. 85. James Madison, present in New York as a Virginia delegate to the Confederation Congress, was recruited by Hamilton and Jay and became Hamilton's primary collaborator. Gouverneur Morris and William Duer were also considered. However, Morris turned down the invitation, and Hamilton rejected three essays written by Duer. [12] Duer later wrote in support of the three Federalist authors under the name "Philo-Publius", meaning either "Friend of the People" or "Friend of Hamilton" based on Hamilton's pen name Publius.

Hamilton chose the pseudonymous name "Publius". While many other pieces representing both sides of the constitutional debate were written under Roman names, historian Albert Furtwangler contends that "'Publius' was a cut above 'Caesar' or 'Brutus' or even 'Cato'. Publius Valerius helped found the ancient republic of Rome. His more famous name, Publicola, meant 'friend of the people'." [13] Hamilton had applied this pseudonym to three letters in 1778, in which he attacked fellow Federalist Samuel Chase and revealed that Chase had taken advantage of knowledge gained in Congress to try to dominate the flour market. [13]

Authorship

James Madison, Hamilton's major collaborator, later fourth president of the United States (1809-1817) James Madison.jpg
James Madison, Hamilton's major collaborator, later fourth president of the United States (1809-1817)

At the time of publication, the authors of The Federalist Papers attempted to hide their identities due to Hamilton and Madison having attended the convention. [14] Astute observers, however, correctly discerned the identities of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. Establishing authorial authenticity of the essays that constitute The Federalist Papers has not always been clear. After Hamilton's death in 1804, a list emerged, claiming that he alone had written two-thirds of The Federalist essays. Some believe that several of these essays were written by Madison (Nos. 49–58 and 62–63). The scholarly detective work of Douglass Adair in 1944 postulated the following assignments of authorship, corroborated in 1964 by a computer analysis of the text: [15]

In six months, a total of 85 articles were written by the three men.

Hamilton, who had been a leading advocate of national constitutional reform throughout the 1780s and was one of the three representatives for New York at the Constitutional Convention, in 1789 became the first secretary of the treasury, a post he held until his resignation in 1795.

Madison, who is now acknowledged as the father of the Constitution — despite his repeated rejection of this honor during his lifetime, [17] became a leading member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia (1789–1797), secretary of state (1801–1809), and ultimately the fourth president of the United States (1809–1817). [18]

John Jay, who had been secretary for foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation from 1784 through their expiration in 1789, became the first Chief Justice of the United States in 1789, stepping down in 1795 to accept election as governor of New York, a post he held for two terms, retiring in 1801. [19]

Publication

An advertisement for the book edition of The Federalist An Advertisement of The Federalist - Project Gutenberg eText 16960.jpg
An advertisement for the book edition of The Federalist

The Federalist articles appeared in three New York newspapers: The Independent Journal , the New-York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser, beginning on October 27, 1787. Although written and published with haste, The Federalist articles were widely read and greatly influenced the shape of American political institutions. [20] Hamilton, Madison and Jay published the essays at a rapid pace. At times, three to four new essays by Publius appeared in the papers in a single week. Garry Wills observes that this fast pace of production "overwhelmed" any possible response: "Who, given ample time could have answered such a battery of arguments? And no time was given." [21] Hamilton also encouraged the reprinting of the essays in newspapers outside New York state, and indeed they were published in several other states where the ratification debate was taking place. However, they were only irregularly published outside New York, and in other parts of the country they were often overshadowed by local writers. [22]

Because the essays were initially published in New York, most of them begin with the same salutation: "To the People of the State of New York".

The high demand for the essays led to their publication in a more permanent form. On January 1, 1788, the New York publishing firm J. & A. McLean announced that they would publish the first 36 essays as a bound volume; that volume was released on March 22, 1788, and was titled The Federalist Volume 1. [1] New essays continued to appear in the newspapers; Federalist No. 77 was the last number to appear first in that form, on April 2. A second bound volume was released on May 28, containing Federalist Nos. 37–77 and the previously unpublished Nos. 78–85. [1] The last eight papers (Nos. 78–85) were republished in the New York newspapers between June 14 and August 16, 1788. [1] [20]

A 1792 French edition ended the collective anonymity of Publius, announcing that the work had been written by "Mm. Hamilton, Maddisson e Gay, citoyens de l'État de New York". [23] In 1802, George Hopkins published an American edition that similarly named the authors. Hopkins wished as well that "the name of the writer should be prefixed to each number," but at this point Hamilton insisted that this was not to be, and the division of the essays among the three authors remained a secret. [24]

The first publication to divide the papers in such a way was an 1810 edition that used a list left by Hamilton to associate the authors with their numbers; this edition appeared as two volumes of the compiled "Works of Hamilton". In 1818, Jacob Gideon published a new edition with a new listing of authors, based on a list provided by Madison. The difference between Hamilton's list and Madison's formed the basis for a dispute over the authorship of a dozen of the essays. [25]

Both Hopkins's and Gideon's editions incorporated significant edits to the text of the papers themselves, generally with the approval of the authors. In 1863, Henry Dawson published an edition containing the original text of the papers, arguing that they should be preserved as they were written in that particular historical moment, not as edited by the authors years later. [26]

Modern scholars generally use the text prepared by Jacob E. Cooke for his 1961 edition of The Federalist; this edition used the newspaper texts for essay numbers 1–76 and the McLean edition for essay numbers 77–85. [27]

Disputed essays

John Jay, author of five of The Federalist Papers, later became the first chief justice of the United States John Jay (Gilbert Stuart portrait).jpg
John Jay, author of five of The Federalist Papers, later became the first chief justice of the United States

While the authorship of 73 of The Federalist essays is fairly certain, the identities of those who wrote the twelve remaining essays are disputed by some scholars. The modern consensus is that Madison wrote essays Nos. 49–58, with Nos. 18–20 being products of a collaboration between him and Hamilton; No. 64 was by John Jay. The first open designation of which essay belonged to whom was provided by Hamilton who, in the days before his ultimately fatal gun duel with Aaron Burr, provided his lawyer with a list detailing the author of each number. This list credited Hamilton with a full 63 of the essays (three of those being jointly written with Madison), almost three-quarters of the whole, and was used as the basis for an 1810 printing that was the first to make specific attribution for the essays. [28]

Madison did not immediately dispute Hamilton's list, but provided his own list for the 1818 Gideon edition of The Federalist. Madison claimed 29 essays for himself, and he suggested that the difference between the two lists was "owing doubtless to the hurry in which [Hamilton's] memorandum was made out." A known error in Hamilton's list—Hamilton incorrectly ascribed No. 54 to John Jay, when in fact, Jay wrote No. 64—provided some evidence for Madison's suggestion. [29]

Statistical analysis has been undertaken on several occasions in attempts to accurately identify the author of each individual essay. After examining word choice and writing style, studies generally agree that the disputed essays were written by James Madison. However, there are notable exceptions maintaining that some of the essays which are now widely attributed to Madison were, in fact, collaborative efforts. [15] [30] [31]

Influence on the ratification debates

The Federalist Papers were written to support the ratification of the Constitution, specifically in New York. Whether they succeeded in this mission is questionable. Separate ratification proceedings took place in each state, and the essays were not reliably reprinted outside of New York; furthermore, by the time the series was well underway, a number of important states had already ratified it, for instance Pennsylvania on December 12. New York held out until July 26; certainly The Federalist was more important there than anywhere else, but Furtwangler argues that it "could hardly rival other major forces in the ratification contests"—specifically, these forces included the personal influence of well-known Federalists, for instance Hamilton and Jay, and Anti-Federalists, including Governor George Clinton. [32] Further, by the time New York came to a vote, ten states had already ratified the Constitution and it had thus already passed—only nine states had to ratify it for the new government to be established among them; the ratification by Virginia, the tenth state, placed pressure on New York to ratify. In light of that, Furtwangler observes, "New York's refusal would make that state an odd outsider." [33]

Only 19 Federalists were elected to New York's ratification convention, compared to the Anti-Federalists' 46 delegates. While New York did indeed ratify the Constitution on July 26, the lack of public support for pro-Constitution Federalists has led historian John Kaminski to suggest that the impact of The Federalist on New York citizens was "negligible". [34]

As for Virginia, which ratified the Constitution only at its convention on June 25, Hamilton writes in a letter to Madison that the collected edition of The Federalist had been sent to Virginia; Furtwangler presumes that it was to act as a "debater's handbook for the convention there", though he claims that this indirect influence would be a "dubious distinction". [35] Probably of greater importance to the Virginia debate, in any case, were George Washington's support for the proposed Constitution and the presence of Madison and Edmund Randolph, the governor, at the convention arguing for ratification.

Structure and content

In Federalist No. 1, Hamilton listed six topics to be covered in the subsequent articles:

  1. "The utility of the UNION to your political prosperity"—covered in No. 2 through No. 14
  2. "The insufficiency of the present Confederation to preserve that Union"—covered in No. 15 through No. 22
  3. "The necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one proposed to the attainment of this object"—covered in No. 23 through No. 36
  4. "The conformity of the proposed constitution to the true principles of republican government"—covered in No. 37 through No. 84
  5. "Its analogy to your own state constitution"—covered in No. 85
  6. "The additional security which its adoption will afford to the preservation of that species of government, to liberty and to prosperity"—covered in No. 85. [36]

Furtwangler notes that as the series grew, this plan was somewhat changed. The fourth topic expanded into detailed coverage of the individual articles of the Constitution and the institutions it mandated, while the two last topics were merely touched on in the last essay.

The papers can be broken down by author as well as by topic. At the start of the series, all three authors were contributing; the first 20 papers are broken down as 11 by Hamilton, five by Madison and four by Jay. The rest of the series, however, is dominated by three long segments by a single writer: Nos. 21–36 by Hamilton, Nos. 37–58 by Madison, written while Hamilton was in Albany, and No. 65 through the end by Hamilton, published after Madison had left for Virginia. [37]

Opposition to the Bill of Rights

The Federalist Papers (specifically Federalist No. 84) are notable for their opposition to what later became the United States Bill of Rights. The idea of adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution was originally controversial because the Constitution, as written, did not specifically enumerate or protect the rights of the people, rather it listed the powers of the government and left all that remained to the states and the people. Alexander Hamilton, the author of Federalist No. 84, feared that such an enumeration, once written down explicitly, would later be interpreted as a list of the only rights that people had. [38] [39]

However, Hamilton's opposition to a Bill of Rights was far from universal. Robert Yates, writing under the pseudonym "Brutus", articulated this view point in the so-called Anti-Federalist No. 84, asserting that a government unrestrained by such a bill could easily devolve into tyranny. References in The Federalist and in the ratification debates warn of demagogues of the variety who through divisive appeals would aim at tyranny. The Federalist begins and ends with this issue. [40] In the final paper Hamilton offers "a lesson of moderation to all sincere lovers of the Union, and ought to put them on their guard against hazarding anarchy, civil war, a perpetual alienation of the States from each other, and perhaps the military despotism of a successful demagogue". [41] The matter was further clarified by the Ninth Amendment.

Judicial use

Federal judges, when interpreting the Constitution, frequently use The Federalist Papers as a contemporary account of the intentions of the framers and ratifiers. [42] They have been applied on issues ranging from the power of the federal government in foreign affairs (in Hines v. Davidowitz ) to the validity of ex post facto laws (in the 1798 decision Calder v. Bull , apparently the first decision to mention The Federalist). [43] By 2000, The Federalist had been quoted 291 times in Supreme Court decisions. [44]

The amount of deference that should be given to The Federalist Papers in constitutional interpretation has always been somewhat controversial. As early as 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall noted in the famous case McCulloch v. Maryland , that "the opinions expressed by the authors of that work have been justly supposed to be entitled to great respect in expounding the Constitution. No tribute can be paid to them which exceeds their merit; but in applying their opinions to the cases which may arise in the progress of our government, a right to judge of their correctness must be retained." [45] In a letter to Thomas Ritchie in 1821, James Madison stated of the Constitution that "the legitimate meaning of the Instrument must be derived from the text itself; or if a key is to be sought elsewhere, it must be not in the opinions or intentions of the Body which planned & proposed the Constitution, but in the sense attached to it by the people in their respective State Conventions where it recd. all the authority which it possesses." [46] [47]

Complete list

The colors used to highlight the rows correspond to the author of the paper.

   Alexander Hamilton
   John Jay
   James Madison
#DateTitleAuthor
1 October 27, 1787General Introduction Alexander Hamilton
2 October 31, 1787Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence John Jay
3 November 3, 1787The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence John Jay
4 November 7, 1787The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence John Jay
5 November 10, 1787The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence John Jay
6 November 14, 1787Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States Alexander Hamilton
7 November 15, 1787The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States Alexander Hamilton
8 November 20, 1787The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States Alexander Hamilton
9 November 21, 1787The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection Alexander Hamilton
10 November 22, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection James Madison
11 November 24, 1787The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy Alexander Hamilton
12 November 27, 1787The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue Alexander Hamilton
13 November 28, 1787Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government Alexander Hamilton
14 November 30, 1787Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered James Madison
15 December 1, 1787The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union Alexander Hamilton
16 December 4, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union Alexander Hamilton
17 December 5, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union Alexander Hamilton
18 December 7, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union James Madison [16]
19 December 8, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union James Madison [16]
20 December 11, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union James Madison [16]
21 December 12, 1787Other Defects of the Present Confederation Alexander Hamilton
22 December 14, 1787The Same Subject Continued: Other Defects of the Present Confederation Alexander Hamilton
23 December 18, 1787The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union Alexander Hamilton
24 December 19, 1787The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered Alexander Hamilton
25 December 21, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered Alexander Hamilton
26 December 22, 1787The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered Alexander Hamilton
27 December 25, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered Alexander Hamilton
28 December 26, 1787The Same Subject Continued: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered Alexander Hamilton
29 January 9, 1788Concerning the Militia Alexander Hamilton
30 December 28, 1787Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
31 January 1, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
32 January 2, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
33 January 2, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
34 January 5, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
35 January 5, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
36 January 8, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation Alexander Hamilton
37 January 11, 1788Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government James Madison
38 January 12, 1788The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed James Madison
39 January 16, 1788The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles James Madison
40 January 18, 1788The Powers of the convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained James Madison
41 January 19, 1788General View of the Powers Conferred by the Constitution James Madison
42 January 22, 1788The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered James Madison
43 January 23, 1788The Same Subject Continued: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered James Madison
44 January 25, 1788Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States James Madison
45 January 26, 1788The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered James Madison
46 January 29, 1788The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared James Madison
47 January 30, 1788The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts James Madison
48 February 1, 1788These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other James Madison
49 February 2, 1788Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government James Madison [48]
50 February 5, 1788Periodic Appeals to the People Considered James Madison [48]
51 February 6, 1788The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments James Madison [48]
52 February 8, 1788The House of Representatives James Madison [48]
53 February 9, 1788The Same Subject Continued: The House of Representatives James Madison [48]
54 February 12, 1788The Apportionment of Members Among the States James Madison [48]
55 February 13, 1788The Total Number of the House of Representatives James Madison [48]
56 February 16, 1788The Same Subject Continued: The Total Number of the House of Representatives James Madison [48]
57 February 19, 1788The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many James Madison [48]
58 February 20, 1788Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered James Madison [48]
59 February 22, 1788Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members Alexander Hamilton
60 February 23, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members Alexander Hamilton
61 February 26, 1788The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members Alexander Hamilton
62 February 27, 1788The Senate James Madison [48]
63 March 1, 1788The Senate Continued James Madison [48]
64 March 5, 1788The Powers of the Senate John Jay
65 March 7, 1788The Powers of the Senate Continued Alexander Hamilton
66 March 8, 1788Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered Alexander Hamilton
67 March 11, 1788The Executive Department Alexander Hamilton
68 March 12, 1788The Mode of Electing the President Alexander Hamilton
69 March 14, 1788The Real Character of the Executive Alexander Hamilton
70 March 15, 1788The Executive Department Further Considered Alexander Hamilton
71 March 18, 1788The Duration in Office of the Executive Alexander Hamilton
72 March 19, 1788The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered Alexander Hamilton
73 March 21, 1788The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power Alexander Hamilton
74 March 25, 1788The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton
75 March 26, 1788The Treaty Making Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton
76 April 1, 1788The Appointing Power of the Executive Alexander Hamilton
77 April 2, 1788The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered Alexander Hamilton
78 May 28, 1788 (book)
June 14, 1788 (newspaper)
The Judiciary Department Alexander Hamilton
79 May 28, 1788 (book)
June 18, 1788 (newspaper)
The Judiciary Continued Alexander Hamilton
80 June 21, 1788The Powers of the Judiciary Alexander Hamilton
81 June 25, 1788;
June 28, 1788
The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority Alexander Hamilton
82 July 2, 1788The Judiciary Continued Alexander Hamilton
83 July 5, 1788;
July 9, 1788;
July 12, 1788
The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury Alexander Hamilton
84 July 16, 1788;
July 26, 1788;
August 9, 1788
Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered Alexander Hamilton
85 August 13, 1788;
August 16, 1788
Concluding Remarks Alexander Hamilton

Calendar view

October 1787
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
212223242526 27
282930 31  
 
November 1787
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
12 3
456 7 89 10
111213 14 15 1617
1819 20 21 22 23 24
2526 27 28 29 30
 
December 1787
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
23 4 5 6 7 8
910 11 12 13 14 15
1617 18 19 20 21 22
2324 25 26 27 28 29
3031 
January 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1 2 + 34 5 +
67 8 9 10 11 12
131415 16 17 18 19
2021 22 23 24 25 26
2728 29 30 31 
 
February 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1 2
34 5 6 7 8 9
1011 12 13 1415 16
1718 19 20 21 22 23
2425 26 27 2829
 
March 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
234 5 6 7 8
910 11 12 13 14 15
1617 18 19 20 21 22
2324 25 26 272829
3031 
April 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1 2 345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930 
 
May 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627 28 293031
 
June 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1234567
8910111213 14
151617 18 1920 21
222324 25 2627 28
2930 
 
July 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1 2 34 5
678 9 1011 12
131415 16 171819
202122232425 26
2728293031 
 
August 1788
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
12
345678 9
101112 13 1415 16
17181920212223
24252627282930
31 

The purposes and authorship of The Federalist Papers were prominently highlighted in the lyrics of "Non-Stop", the finale of Act One in the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. [49]

See also

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lloyd, Gordon. "Introduction to the Federalist". teachingamericanhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  2. The Federalist: a Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, in two volumes (1st ed.). New York City: J. & A. McLean. 1788. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017.{{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  3. Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (1995). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. p. 194. ISBN   978-0-300-05536-8.
  4. The Federalist Papers . Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Bantam Books. 1982. ISBN   9780553210729.
  5. Wills, x.
  6. Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; Jay, John (2020). The Federalist Papers. New York City: Open Road Integrated Media. ISBN   978-1-5040-6099-8. OCLC   1143829765.
  7. Morris, Richard B. (1987). The Forging of the Union: 1781–1789. New York City: HarperCollins. p. 309. ISBN   978-0060914240.
  8. Madison, James; Franklin, Benjamin; Paterson, William; Washington, George; Mason, George; Jefferson, Thomas; Hamilton, Alexander; Jay, John (April 12, 2008). "Convention and Ratification - Creating the United States | Exhibitions - Library of Congress". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. Furtwangler, pp. 48–49.
  10. Gunn, Giles B. (1994). Early American Writing. New York City: Penguin Classics. p. 540. ISBN   978-0-14-039087-2.
  11. Jay, John. "An Address to the People of the State of New-York". columbia.edu. Columbia University Libraries. Archived from the original on 2010-06-27. Excerpted from: Elliot, Jonathan, ed. (1836–1859). The debates in the several state conventions on the adoption of the Federal Constitution: as recommended by the general convention at Philadelphia, in 1787 (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.; Washington: Taylor & Maury. OCLC   656425.
  12. Furtwangler, pp. 51–56.
  13. 1 2 Furtwangler, p. 51.
  14. Barendt, Eric (2016). Anonymous Speech: Literature, Law and Politics. New York City: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 38. ISBN   9781509904075.
  15. 1 2 Mosteller, Frederick; Wallace, David L. (2012). Applied Bayesian and Classical Inference: The Case of The Federalist Papers. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   978-1-4612-5256-6.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Nos. 18, 19, 20 are frequently indicated as being jointly written by Hamilton and Madison. However, Adair concurs with previous historians that these are Madison's writing alone: "Madison had certainly written all of the essays himself, including in revised form only a small amount of pertinent information submitted by Hamilton from his rather sketchy research on the same subject." Adair, 63.
  17. Banning, Lance (2001) [1999]. "James Madison: Federalist". In McNamara, Peter (ed.). James Madison: Memory, Service, and Fame. London, England: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 121–140. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  18. See, e.g., Ralph Ketcham, James Madison. New York: Macmillan, 1971; reprint ed., Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998. See also Irving N. Brant, James Madison: Father of the Constitution, 1787–1800. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1950.
  19. "John Jay | Founding Father, US Chief Justice & Diplomat | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  20. 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Founding Fathers: The Essential Guide to the Men Who Made America. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-0-470-11792-7.
  21. Wills, xii.
  22. Furtwangler, p. 20.
  23. Bain, Robert (1977). "The Federalist". In Emerson, Everett H. (ed.). American Literature, 1764-1789: The Revolutionary Years. Univ. of Wisconsin Press. p.  260. ISBN   978-0-299-07270-4.
  24. Adair, 40–41.
  25. Adair, 44–46.
  26. Lodge, Henry Cabot, ed. (1902). The Federalist, a Commentary on the Constitution of the United States. Putnam. pp. xxxviii–xliii. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  27. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison (Jacob E. Cooke, ed., The Federalist (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1961 and later reprintings). ISBN   978-0-8195-6077-3.
  28. Adair, 46–48.
  29. Adair, 48.
  30. Collins, Jeff; Kaufer, David; Vlachos, Pantelis; Butler, Brian; Ishizaki, Suguru (February 2004). "Detecting Collaborations in Text: Comparing the Authors' Rhetorical Language Choices in The Federalist Papers". Computers and the Humanities. 38 (1): 15–36. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.459.8655 . doi:10.1023/B:CHUM.0000009291.06947.52. S2CID   207680270.
  31. Fung, Glenn (2003). "The Disputed Federalist Papers: SVM Feature Selection via Concave Minimization" (PDF). Journal of the ACM. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2005-04-17.
  32. Furtwangler, p. 21.
  33. Furtwangler, p. 22.
  34. Coenen, Dan. "Fifteen Curious Facts about The Federalist Papers". Media Commons. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  35. Furtwangler, p. 23.
  36. This scheme of division is adapted from Charles K. Kesler's introduction to The Federalist Papers (New York: Signet Classic, 1999) pp. 15–17. A similar division is indicated by Furtwangler, pp. 57–58.
  37. Wills, 274.
  38. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt9-2/ALDE_00013642/#ALDF_00027205 "the Ninth Amendment sought to address Federalist fears that expressly protecting certain rights might implicitly sanction the infringement of other rights.James Madison responded to that argument in presenting his proposed amendments to the House of Representatives: "It has been objected also against a bill of rights, that, by enumerating particular exceptions to the grant of power, it would disparage those rights which were not placed in that enumeration; and it might follow by implication, that those rights which were not singled out, were intended to be assigned into the hands of the General Government, and were consequently insecure. This is one of the most plausible arguments I have ever heard against the admission of a bill of rights into this system.""(This is concept is related to a canon of legal interpretation expressio unius est exclusio alterius)
  39. https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/januaryfebruary/feature/building-the-bill-rights "Hamilton and his supporters not only believed enumeration to be unnecessary, they feared that it could restrict the freedom of the people. By limiting certain powers of the state, a Bill of Rights could be interpreted to grant all others" (Citing Federalist 84)
  40. Tulis, Jeffrey (1987). The Rhetorical Presidency . Princeton University Press. p.  30. ISBN   978-0-691-02295-6.
  41. Harvey Flaumenhaft, "Hamilton's Administrative Republic and the American Presidency," in The Presidency in the Constitutional Order, ed. Joseph M. Bessette and Jeffrey K. Tulis (Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1981), 65–114.
  42. Lupu, Ira C.; "The Most-Cited Federalist Papers". Constitutional Commentary (1998) pp. 403+; using Supreme Court citations, the five most cited were Federalist No. 42 (Madison) (33 decisions), Federalist No. 78 (Hamilton) (30 decisions), Federalist No. 81 (Hamilton) (27 decisions), Federalist No. 51 (Madison) (26 decisions), Federalist No. 32 (Hamilton) (25 decisions).
  43. See, among others, a very early exploration of the judicial use of The Federalist in Charles W. Pierson, "The Federalist in the Supreme Court", The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 7. (May 1924), pp. 728–35.
  44. Chernow, Ron. "Alexander Hamilton". Penguin Books, 2004. (p. 260)
  45. Arthur, John (1995). Words That Bind: Judicial Review and the Grounds of Modern Constitutional Theory . Westview Press. pp.  41. ISBN   978-0-8133-2349-7.
  46. Madison to Thomas Ritchie, September 15, 1821. Quoted in Furtwangler, p. 36.
  47. Max Farrand, ed. (1911). The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Yale University Press. the legitimate meaning of the Instrument must be derived from the text itself.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 One of twelve disputed papers (Nos. 49–58 and 62–63) to which both Madison and Hamilton laid claim. See Adair, 93. Modern scholarly consensus leans towards Madison as the author of all twelve, and he is so credited in this table.
  49. Miranda, Lin-Manuel; McCarter, Jeremy (2016). Hamilton: The Revolution. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 142–143. ISBN   978-1-4555-6753-9.

General and cited references

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Federalism</span> 1780s political movement in the U.S.

Anti-Federalism was a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, gave state governments more authority. Led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, Anti-Federalists worried, among other things, that the position of president, then a novelty, might evolve into a monarchy. Though the Constitution was ratified and supplanted the Articles of Confederation, Anti-Federalist influence helped lead to the passage of the Bill of Rights.

Anti-Federalist Papers is the collective name given to the works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed to, or concerned with, the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787. Starting on 25 September 1787 and running through the early 1790s, these Anti-Federalists published a series of essays arguing against the ratification of the new Constitution. They argued against the implementation of a stronger federal government without protections on certain rights. The Anti-Federalist papers failed to halt the ratification of the Constitution but they succeeded in influencing the first assembly of the United States Congress to draft the Bill of Rights. These works were authored primarily by anonymous contributors using pseudonyms such as "Brutus" and the "Federal Farmer." Unlike the Federalists, the Anti-Federalists created their works as part of an unorganized group.

Federalist No. 10 is an essay written by James Madison as the tenth of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays initiated by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. It was first published in The Daily Advertiser on November 22, 1787, under the name "Publius". Federalist No. 10 is among the most highly regarded of all American political writings.

<i>Federalist</i> No. 9 Political essay by Alexander Hamilton

Federalist No. 9, titled "The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection", is a political essay by Alexander Hamilton and the ninth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in the New York Daily Advertiser and the Independent Journal on November 21, 1787, under the pseudonym used for all Federalist Papers, Publius. The essay argues that large republics can achieve stability, and that they do not inevitably lead to tyranny as his opponents believe. It expressed ideas that became the foundation of Federalist No. 10, the most influential in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 23</span> Federalist Paper by Alexander Hamilton

Federalist No. 23, titled "The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union", is a political essay written by Alexander Hamilton and the twenty-third of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in New York newspapers on December 18, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. This entry shifted the focus of the series, beginning an extended analysis of the proposed constitution and its provisions regarding commerce and national defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 2</span> Federalist Paper by John Jay

Federalist No. 2, titled "Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence", is a political essay written by John Jay. It was the second of The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 essays arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. The essay was first published in The Independent Journal on October 31, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. Federalist No. 2 established the premise of nationhood that would persist through the series, addressing the issue of political union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 14</span> Federalist Paper by James Madison

Federalist No. 14 is an essay by James Madison titled "Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered". This essay is the fourteenth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in The New York Packet on November 30, 1787 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. It addresses a major objection of the Anti-Federalists to the proposed United States Constitution: that the sheer size of the United States would make it impossible to govern justly as a single country. Madison touched on this issue in Federalist No. 10 and returns to it in this essay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 26</span> Federalist Paper by Alexander Hamilton regarding a standing army

Federalist No. 26, titled "The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered", is an essay written by Alexander Hamilton in the twenty-sixth of The Federalist Papers. It was published on December 22, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. Federalist No. 26 expands upon the arguments of a federal military Hamilton made in No. 24 and No. 25, and it is directly continued in No. 27 and No. 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 41</span> Federalist Paper by James Madison

Federalist No. 41, titled "General View of the Powers Conferred by the Constitution", is an essay written by James Madison as the forty-first of The Federalist Papers. These essays were published by Alexander Hamilton, with John Jay and James Madison serving as co-authors, under the pseudonym "Publius." No. 41 was first published by The New York Packet on January 19, 1788 and argues about the necessity of the powers the Constitution vested upon the general government as well as the meaning of the phrase "general welfare".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalist No. 49</span> Federalist Paper by James Madison

Federalist No. 49 is an essay by James Madison, the forty-ninth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published by The New York Packet on February 2, 1788, under the pseudonym "Publius", the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. It is titled "Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention".

<i>Federalist No. 52</i> Federalist Paper by James Madison, or possibly Alexander Hamilton

Federalist No. 52, an essay by James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, is the fifty-second essay out of eighty-five making up The Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written during the Constitution's ratification process, most of them written either by Hamilton or Madison. It was published in the New York Packet on February 8, 1788, with the pseudonym Publius, under which all The Federalist papers were published. This essay is the first of two examining the structure of the United States House of Representatives under the proposed United States Constitution. It is titled "The House of Representatives".

<i>Federalist No. 54</i> Federalist Paper by James Madison on Apportionment of Representatives

Federalist Paper No. 54 is an essay by James Madison, the fifty-fourth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published by The New York Packet on February 12, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published.

<i>Federalist No. 62</i> Federalist Paper by James Madison about the Senate

Federalist No. 62 is an essay written by James Madison as the sixty-second of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays initiated by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. It was first published in The New York Packet on February 27, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius. Federalist No. 62 is the first of two essays by Madison detailing, and seeking to justify, the organization of the United States Senate, and is titled "The Senate".

<i>Federalist No. 66</i> Federalist Paper by Alexander Hamilton

Federalist No. 66 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the sixty-sixth of The Federalist Papers. It was published on March 8, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. The title is "Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered".

<i>Federalist No. 76</i> Federalist Paper by Alexander Hamilton

Federalist No. 76, written by Alexander Hamilton, was published on April 1, 1788. The Federalist Papers are a series of eighty-five essays written to urge the ratification of the United States Constitution. These letters were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name of Publius in the late 1780s. This paper discusses the arrangement of the power of appointment and the system of checks and balances. The title is "The Appointing Power of the Executive", and is the tenth in a series of 11 essays discussing the powers and limitations of the Executive branch. There are three options for entrusting power: a single individual, a select congregation, or an individual with the unanimity of the assembly. Hamilton supported bestowing the president with the nominating power but the ratifying power would be granted to the senate in order to have a process with the least bias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Ratifying Convention</span> 1788 Convention ratifying the U.S. Constitution

The Virginia Ratifying Convention was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at the Philadelphia Convention the previous year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution</span>

The drafting of the Constitution of the United States began on May 25, 1787, when the Constitutional Convention met for the first time with a quorum at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the Articles of Confederation. It ended on September 17, 1787, the day the Frame of Government drafted by the convention's delegates to replace the Articles was adopted and signed. The ratification process for the Constitution began that day, and ended when the final state, Rhode Island, ratified it on May 29, 1790.

The Independent Journal, occasionally known as The General Advertiser, was a semi-weekly New York City journal and newspaper edited and published by John McLean and Archibald McLean in the late 18th century. The newspaper's content included contemporary essays and notices.

The New York Circular Letter was a solution reached in a controversy between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over ratification of the United States Constitution. The compromise built on earlier deals like the Massachusetts Compromise to call for the use of the Convention provision written into the newly ratified Constitution in order to get the amendments demanded by New York and other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Madison as Father of the Constitution</span> 4th president of the United States from 1809 to 1817

James Madison was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the 4th president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. Disillusioned by the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention, which produced a new constitution. Madison's Virginia Plan served as the basis for the Constitutional Convention's deliberations, and he was one of the most influential individuals at the convention. He became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution, and he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays that was one of the most influential works of political science in American history.