Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers are a series of eight-five anonymous phamplets by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison urging for the ratification of the United States Constitution under the pseudonym "Publius." These papers were first published serially from October 1787 to August 1788 in New York City newspapers. Gottfried Dietze observes:

The political thinking of the Federalist was formed during the American Revolution, a period distinguished by the quest for individual freedom, for peace among states, and for security from foreign nations. ¹

Hamilton, Madison and Jay hoped to persuade a strong opposition in George Clinton's New York State to assent to ratifiction of the proposed Constitution. New York was of course a hotbed of Anti-Federalism at the time. Within the Federalist were answers to common objections and assuring acknowledgements that the proposed federal government was limited by Constitution to enumerated objects of power, and amenable to the states.

Fifty-one of the eighty-five phamplets were written by Alexander Hamilton, a nationalist who had personal preferences for the British model of government and a unitary state. Though, Hamilton concealed his preferences from the public and many of his colleagues, and the phamplets must be understood in its historical context. It is questionable that Alexander Hamilton should have the final word in surmising original intent when his proposals were rejected. In fact, Hamilton had left the Philadelphia Convention to draft a Constitution shortly after its start and he only returned towards its end. Regardless of the final outcome of the state ratifying conventions, he was adamant in the necessity of Union, and was intent on lobbying for its adoption in his home state.

Bruce Frohnen surmises that the Federalist is of immense value in surmising original intent, and essentially a good means for instructing laity about the intent of the framers of the Constitution. Frohnen notes,

For most conservatives, The Federalist far transcends the immediate purpose of its authors because it is the best commentary available concerning the intentions of the founding fathers in drafting the Constitution. The constitutional morality it conveys concerning the institutions and processes established by the Constitution should operate generally to reflect the consensus of the founding fathers. Thus, for many conservatives, the explicit and implicit teachings embodied in these essays represent the geniune principles of the American political order that American conservatives, as conservatives, are obliged to honor and uphold. ²