Hamilton wrote the first "Publius" letter and enlisted John Jay and, later, James Madison to assist in the undertaking. Madison composed about one-third of the essays, Jay five, and Hamilton the remainder (the authorship of several is un-certain). The essays describe how the Constitution would operate as well as how the new system of government would mesh with both the principles that had inspired the Revolution and the lessons learned from the experience of the Revolution itself.
Key Political Principles
More than half of the essays emphasized the need for a stronger central government. The Federalist arguments for this were based on the need to preserve liberty while maintaining domestic order, and the essays sought to modify the political ideas of republicanism in light of the lessons of the Revolution. Republican ideology held that the virtue of the people would insure their commitment to the common good, but wartime experience had convinced the Federalists that people were more likely to ignore political ideals to pursue selfish ends at the expense of the public interest.
During the Revolution power had remained in the hands of Congress and the states. Because state and sectional interests were often in conflict, the United States had found it difficult to formulate and carry out policy even in times of crisis.
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