1. The Federalist Papers

2. Federalist Papers
Series of 85 letters written to newspapers in the late 1780s arguing in support of the U.S. Constitution.
-needed approval of 9 of the 13 states
-New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote them.
Hamilton was the primary author.
It was originally called “The Federalist” but were later known as “Federalist Papers”
The three authors were known as Publius; they kept the authorship guarded closely
The names of the authors weren’t released until after Hamilton’s death

3. There were objections to the “Federalist Papers”; would give government too much power
Hamilton said No. 1 would clear up any objections to the documents
Hamilton chose the name “Publius” to honor the Roman Publius who was one of the founders of the Roman Republic. Hamilton thought he would be instrumental in the creation of the American Republic. He was right.
John Jay was author of five Federal Papers. He would later be Chief Justice of the U.S.
James Madison was a major collaborator and later became President of the United States and “Father of the Constitution”. James Madison is credited with writing 29 of the Federalist Papers although he probably wrote more.

4. Argument
The “Federalist Papers” argued that the Constitution would empower the national government and preserve the Union
It would help the federal government to act firmly and together to promote the good of the nation.
Opponents feared tyranny from such a strong government

5. Bill of Rights
Hamilton didn’t support a Bill of Rights, which is explained in the Federalist Papers. He believed it could actually limit people and that all powers that were not explicitly given to the central government should go to the states and people

6. Hamilton believed that many people who opposed the constitution would oppose any change
He also thought that some were afraid that change would rattle their way of life and lower their status in society.
He also thought some people were just misguided and had good intentions. (Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams etc.) and said they should keep be quiet when the Federalists took the floor and be polite (Hamilton was NOT polite).

7. John Jay addresses war. Federalists talked about war a great deal, although they didn’t see any great risk in the near future.
Jay said a union with a stronger central government under a constitution would have a better military, under one commander. All states would contribute.
Jay said the individual states had conducted their own acts of war in the past against Native Americans. The constitution would help to preserve peace.
-Does this work?
Jay points out that our military would be more effective in promoting American interests such as fishing and trade and could mobilize quickly if threatened by Europeans if there was one organized military.

8. Hamilton says the states are not perfect and that a democracy is likely to have internal problems without a strong central government.
If the federal government is not strong, what if the states break away? Who gets what? How would money be distributed? There must be a strong central government to intervene if these problems persisted.
Hamilton states that the U.S. is lucky, like Britain and has a physical advantage. There would be no need to have a huge standing army.
What advantage is he talking about?

9. Essay 10
Written by James Madison, whose opinion changed. He eventually sides with anti- federalists and becomes a huge supporter of states’ rights.
Essay 10 is one of the most important.
It states that the Constitution is able to control violence and damage caused by factions, or various people who gather together to promote similar interests such as political positions.
Sometimes factions can work against what is best for the public and infringe on the rights of others
States have not solved these issues; people have become very angry with their state governments; the U.S. needs a government that can take care of these problems

10. Madison argued that including many different people with many different interests would prevent America from being divided into rich and poor.
He did not want to add more regiments from the national government. He believed that people having so many different interests and protection from the government, could make America work. He was not interested in giving up liberty of individuals to prevent conflict.
He added that leaving power with the states, would create less division.

11. Having one navy would lead to a wealthier nation overall; to protect American trade interests; more wealth means more money for the central government. This is Hamilton’s view. States would only receive power from the National Government.
He believed that if the government provided protection of people’s civil rights against state governments, people would empower the national government
If a state government defied the national government in the interest of the people of their individual state, would actually be hurting the people.

12. Essay 44
James Madison expresses the importance of limiting states’ rights while allowing the legislative branch to execute its job and says that no branch or person is the law of the land, the CONSTITUTION IS.
States should not print their own money. This would create problems between states and inconsistency.
Argues for the Elastic or (Necessary and Proper Clause) saying the government must act on other issues not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution in order for the government to function properly
-He argues that the checks and balances would keep the government from becoming too powerful
He argued against ex post facto law, which could excuse people from legal contractual obligations.
He argues for the Supremacy Clause, which says the U.S. Constitution and national law are ultimately supersede any other law or body.
All legislators swear an oath to the Constitution.
All justices swear an oath to the Constitution.

13. Essay 45
Madison says the power of the national government in the Constitution does not threaten the power of the states.
It is meant to be effective and efficient.
It will allow the federal government to tax, which is necessary to promote the welfare of all of the states.
State governments still have a great deal of power because passing amendments begins at the state level and states must pass amendments
The Constitution explicitly defines the power of the Federal Government. Everything else is left to the states and people.

14. Federalist Papers
Name the authors of each of the following essays from the Federalist Papers. Summarize each of the following, and explain the argument in each essay.
#10
#36
#39
#47
#51
#64
#78