The Federalist Papers: An Introduction
The Federalist
Papers are a series of 85
essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. These essays were addressed to the “People of
New York State” and were written in an attempt to persuade New Yorkers that they should
vote for the
ratification of the newly drafted Constitution.
The first 77 essays appeared in several New York City newspapers; the first appeared on October 17, 1787 and the 77th on April 12, 1788. The final eight essays, six of which dealt with the Judiciary, were
published in a book published by McLean's New York titled “The Powers of the Judiciary.”
As the essays were being published, their authorship remained a secret from the general public -- they were published under the pseudonym “Publius.” Alexander Hamilton chose to write the Federalist Papers under that pseudonym to honor of Publius Valerius Publicola; a Roman consul in 509 BC who played an important role in the establishment of the Roman Republic.
In Federalist No. 1, titled “General Introduction,” and authored by Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton set the stage for the 84 essays to follow by pointing out the inefficient nature of the current government structure and by instructing the readers of the probable negative consequences (in his opinion) of a vote against ratification. Hamilton also warned that there are special interest groups and powerful individuals who may oppose ratification because they are only concerned with it's negative aspects in relation to their personal, financial, political or social positions. These special interests, he warned, will attempt to sway the vote as he himself, he readily admitted, was attempting to sway the vote. But Hamilton assured the readers that he will be forthright in his persuasion and he then proposed a series of papers that would explain exactly what the Constitution intended to accomplish and how it intended to accomplish those things.
Hamilton concluded Federalist No. 1 by addressing concerns raised by some people that the 13 States were too large (“of too great extent”) for a central government to be effective. He promised that that concern would be addressed in Federalist No. 2.
On July 26, 1788 New York did indeed vote to ratify the Constitution (it was the last state to do so) ; the credit for that was appropriately given to Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay and their Federalist Papers.
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