Background for The Federalist Papers

TIMELINE: 1513 – Machiavelli writes The Prince (Italy) 1726 – Swift writes Gulliver’s Travels (England) 1773 – The Boston Tea Party 1775 – Lexington and Concord (1 st battle of the Revolution) 1776 – Declaration of Independence 1781 – British surrender 1783 – Treaty of Paris signed by United States and Great Britain – Federalist Papers, a series of essays, published in the young United States 1787 – US Constitution signed 1788 – US Constitution adopted

Condensed from The Federalist Papers written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution. In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed "PUBLIUS" and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52 James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.

Condensed from FEDERALIST No. 10 was written by James Madison as a companion to Federalist No.9 by Alexander Hamilton. Thus, its topic is: The Same Subject Continued (The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection) From the New York Packet. Friday, November 23, 1787.

To Think About… Why would the authors have signed their essays “Publius”? Who was the intended audience – of Swift? – of Machiavelli? – of “Publius”? After reading, reflect on how the purpose of each author relates to his intended audience