The Federalist Papers

Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay >> Read The Federalist Papers << About The Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers, published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York newspapers, were written to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution. The Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how the new government would operate and why this type of government would be the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed with the pen name "PUBLIUS".  Some of the authorship is disputed, but the general consensus among scholars is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52 of the essays, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed five. The Federalist Papers remain today as an excellent reference for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. Constitution. About This Version The text of this version is drawn primarily from the first collected 1788 "McLean edition", with some error-correction and modernization of spelling and punctuation.  Headings, where originally phrased as something like "The Same Subject Continued" have been retitled so as to repeat the previous heading appended with "(continued)", thus each document may better stand alone.   This version is influenced by Jacob E. Cooke's edition (Wesleyan University Press, 1961). The footnotes are those of the authors, except where the original edition used a variety of special typographical symbols for superscripts, numerals have been used here.  Editors's footnotes are indicated with numerals preceded by the letter "E". Table of Contents Legend: Federalist Essay Number Publication (The newspapers were theIndependent Journal [J], the New-York Packet [P], and the Daily Advertiser [A], all based in New York) Date (earliest appearance in a newspaper; Nos. 78-85 actually first appeared May 28, 1788, in a bound volume published by J. and A. McLean, Federalist II.) Author (attribution of each paper to its primary author, James Madison [M], John Jay [J], or Alexander Hamilton [H] - based on consensus of scholars) Title of Essay Table of Contents:  The Federal Papers (Essays) 1  J  1787  Oct  27  H General Introduction 2  J  1787  Oct  31  J Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence 3  J  1787  Nov  3  J Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) 4  J  1787  Nov  7  J Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) 5  J  1787  Nov  10  J Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) 6  J  1787  Nov  14  H Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States 7  J  1787  Nov  15  H Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States (continued) and Particular Causes Enumerated 8  P  1787  Nov  20  H Consequences of Hostilities Between the States 9  J  1787  Nov  21  H The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection 10  A  1787  Nov  22  M The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued) 11  J  1787  Nov  24  H The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy 12  P  1787  Nov  27  H The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue 13  J  1787  Nov  28  H Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government 14  P  1787  Nov  30  M Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered 15  J  1787  Dec  1  H Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union 16  P  1787  Dec  4  H Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) 17  J  1787  Dec  5  H Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) 18  P  1787  Dec  7  M Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) 19  J  1787  Dec  8  M Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) 20  P  1787  Dec  11  M Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) 21  J  1787  Dec  12  H Other Defects of the Present Confederation 22  P  1787  Dec  14  H Other Defects of the Present Confederation (continued) 23  P  1787  Dec  18  H Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union 24  J  1787  Dec  19  H Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered 25  P  1787  Dec  21  H Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered (continued) 26  J  1787  Dec  22  H Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered 27  P  1787  Dec  25  H Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) 28  J  1787  Dec  26  H Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) 29  J  1788  Jan  9  H Concerning the Militia 30  P  1787  Dec  28  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation 31  P  1788  Jan  1  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 32  J  1788  Jan  2  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 33  J  1788  Jan  2  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 34  J  1788  Jan  5  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 35  J  1788  Jan  5  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 36  P  1788  Jan  8  H Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) 37  A  1788  Jan  11  M Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government 38  J  1788  Jan  12  M The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed 39  J  1788  Jan  16  M Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles 40  P  1788  Jan  18  M On the Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained 41  J  1788  Jan  19  M General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution 42  P  1788  Jan  22  M The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered 43  J  1788  Jan  23  M The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered (continued) 44  P  1788  Jan  25  M Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States 45  J  1788  Jan  26  M Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered 46  P  1788  Jan  29  M The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared 47  J  1788  Jan  30  M The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts 48  P  1788  Feb  1  M These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other 49  J  1788  Feb  2  M Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention 50  P  1788  Feb  5  M Periodical Appeals to the People Considered 51  J  1788  Feb  6  M The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments 52  P  1788  Feb  8  M The House of Representatives 53  J  1788  Feb  9  M The House of Representatives (continued) 54  P  1788  Feb  12  M Apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives Among the States 55  J  1788  Feb  13  M The Total Number of the House of Representatives 56  J  1788  Feb  16  M The Total Number of the House of Representatives (continued) 57  P  1788  Feb  19  M The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation 58  J  1788  Feb  20  M Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered 59  P  1788  Feb  22  H Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members 60  J  1788  Feb  23  H Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) 61  P  1788  Feb  26  H Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) 62  J  1788  Feb  27  M The Senate 63  J  1788  Mar  1  M The Senate (continued) 64  J  1788  Mar  5  J The Powers of the Senate 65  P  1788  Mar  7  H The Powers of the Senate (continued) 66  J  1788  Mar  8  H Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered 67  P  1788  Mar  11  H The Executive Department 68  J  1788  Mar  12  H The Mode of Electing the President 69  P  1788  Mar  14  H The Real Character of the Executive 70  J  1788  Mar  15  H The Executive Department Further Considered 71  P  1788  Mar  18  H The Duration in Office of the Executive 72  J  1788  Mar  19  H The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered 73  P  1788  Mar  21  H The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power 74  P  1788  Mar  25  H The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive 75  J  1788  Mar  26  H The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive 76  P  1788  Apr  1  H The Appointing Power of the Executive 77  J  1788  Apr  2  H The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered 78  J  1788  Jun  14  H The Judiciary Department 79  J  1788  Jun  18  H The Judiciary Continued 80  J  1788  Jun  21  H The Powers of the Judiciary 81  J  1788  Jun 25 28  H The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority 82  J  1788  Jul  2  H The Judiciary Continued 83  J  1788  Jul  5 9 12  H The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury 84  J  1788  Jul Aug 16 26 9  H Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered 85  J  1788  Aug 13 16  H Concluding Remarks