What was the Federalist Papers?

The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 essays explaining and defending the proposed Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the shared pseudonym Publius and published in New York newspapers between October 27, 1787 and August 16, 1788 to persuade the people of New York to ratify. Hamilton conceived the project after returning from the Constitutional Convention to find New York Governor George Clinton and a network of Anti-Federalist writers attacking the Constitution in the press. He recruited James Madison, the leading constitutional theorist from the convention, and John Jay, the experienced diplomat and Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Jay wrote five essays before falling ill from a head injury. Madison wrote roughly 29 essays, including the most theoretically influential ones. Hamilton wrote roughly 51 essays himself, dictating many late at night before they ran in the next day's newspapers. The essays first appeared in The Independent Journal, the New York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser at a pace of three or four per week, then were collected and published as a book in March and May 1788.

The series covered the entire Constitution. Federalist No. 1 by Hamilton stated the project's purpose: to consider the new Constitution on calm and rational arguments rather than passion. Federalist No. 10 by Madison defended the Constitution against the Anti-Federalist claim that a republic could not govern a large territory, arguing that an extended republic would actually dilute factions and protect minority rights. Federalist No. 51 by Madison explained the doctrine of separation of powers and checks and balances with the famous observation that if men were angels, no government would be necessary. Federalist No. 78 by Hamilton defended judicial review, arguing that courts had a duty to set aside laws contrary to the Constitution.

Other essays addressed taxation (Hamilton, Nos. 30 to 36), national defense and standing armies (Nos. 23 to 29), the Senate (Nos. 62 to 66), the executive (Nos. 67 to 77), and the absence of a Bill of Rights (Hamilton, No. 84). The essays did not single-handedly secure New York's narrow ratification on July 26, 1788, but they shaped subsequent constitutional understanding profoundly. The Supreme Court has cited The Federalist hundreds of times. The essays remain in print and are studied in American government, history, and law courses around the world. They are now considered the most authoritative contemporary commentary on the original meaning of the Constitution.