The Federalist Papers, a series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were intended to win public support for the Constitution by explaining in detail how the proposed system of government would work. The...

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...

This book was commissioned by the Twentieth Century Fund in the belief that the American Constitution is under unfair attack from both the political left and right. The left is unhappy that the national government has done too little to meet what they...

A survey that measured the frequency with which the US Supreme Court cited the Federalist Papers in judicial opinions lists the following five as the most cited. They are listed in order from least cited to most cited. Federalist Paper No. 32, by Alexander...

If there is such a thing as immortality, it may be having people gather to celebrate your 250th birthday.Alexander Hamilton met that standard on Thursday, as a group of descendants, along with latter-day admirers, convened to mark the anniversary of his birth in 1757.The setting...

Gun Control: Does striking down a draconian District of Columbia law barring residents from keeping handguns in their homes give "a new and dangerous meaning to the Second Amendment?" Or does it restore the Founders' intent?The hyperbole above comes to us courtesy of a Washington...

In the following essay, Pangle explores The Federalist Papers's use of and deviation from the classical tradition of Republicanism, suggesting that Publius developed a new definition of civic virtue. Citing influences such as Machiavelli, Hume, and Montesquieu, Pangle highlights the path of Publius in creating a new idea of civic health and of liberty itself.

In the following essay, Dry analyzes The Federalist Papers as a response to particular Anti-Federalist arguments. Quoting from the Anti-Federalist tracts “Letters of Brutus” and “Letters of the Federal Farmer,” Dry highlights passages in The Federalist Papers that respond to them directly, focusing on issues of the definition of federalism, and limitations on Congressional powers of taxation and war.

In the following essay, Jasinski uses the literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin's notions of heteroglossia and polyphony to examine the rhetoric of The Federalist Papers.

The Federalist Papers repeatedly acknowledge a basic truth of human existence: humans are naturally selfish, hostile, and full of such characteristics that hinder the continuation of peaceful, harmonious existence. The necessity of government for the greater good of mankind is blatantly obvious.