The Federalist Papers
Insights into the Framers’ Intentions
Because Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were members of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist papers are used to help understand the intentions of the Framers who drafted the Constitution. Although the Federalist papers were originally written to encourage people in the state of New York to support ratification of the U.S. Constitution, leaders in many states used the arguments developed in the essays to support ratification of the Constitution.
T he Federalist papers were a series of 85 essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution and explaining particular provisions of the Constitution in detail. WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER HAMILTON, James Madison and John Jay, the Federalist essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name “Publius.” They were influential in getting the new United States Constitution ratified by all the states.
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FREEDOM FACT Of the three authors of the Federalist papers, John Jay contributed the least to the essays least to the essays because he became very ill shortly after
penning Nos. 2 through 5. He was only able to write one additional essay, Federalist No. 64.
THIS IS THE TITLE PAGE of “The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.”
Most Influential Federalist Papers
No. 51
No. 39
No. 1
No. 10
No. 78
No. 70
General Introduction (Alexander Hamilton)
The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (James Madison)
The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles (James Madison)
Periodical Appeals to the People Considered U.S. Constitution (James Madison)
The Real Character of the Executive (Alexander Hamilton)
The Judiciary Department (Alexander Hamilton)
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