Who were Federalists?

Federalists were the supporters of the proposed Constitution during the ratification debate from September 1787 through 1789, including most of the convention delegates who had drafted it and a broad coalition of merchants, creditors, urban professionals, large landholders, and continental army veterans who saw the Articles of Confederation as a failure that endangered the new nation. Leading Federalists included James Madison of Virginia, Alexander Hamilton of New York, John Jay of New York, James Wilson and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina, John Marshall of Virginia, and Rufus King of Massachusetts. George Washington, although he avoided most of the public debate, lent quiet support that proved decisive in Virginia. Benjamin Franklin's closing speech to the Constitutional Convention urging unanimous signing on September 17, 1787 was published widely and gave momentum to the Federalist cause.

Federalists made several core arguments. First, the Articles of Confederation had failed and the nation faced commercial collapse, debt default, and possible disunion if a stronger national government was not adopted. Second, the Constitution carefully divided and limited power through separation of branches, federalism, and procedural safeguards, so the structure itself protected liberty. Third, the size of the country, far from being a vice as Anti-Federalists claimed, was actually a virtue: as Madison argued in Federalist No. 10, a large republic would dilute factions and prevent any single interest from dominating. Fourth, a Bill of Rights was unnecessary because the federal government had only enumerated powers and could not invade liberties not granted to it; James Wilson advanced this argument famously in his October 6, 1787 State House speech in Philadelphia.

The Federalists organized publication campaigns, the most influential of which produced The Federalist Papers, 85 essays signed Publius and authored by Hamilton (51), Madison (29), and Jay (5), published in New York newspapers from October 27, 1787 through August 1788. They lobbied state ratifying conventions, dominated the early conventions in small states that benefited from the equal Senate, and worked patiently in Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York where outcomes were uncertain. Massachusetts ratified on February 6, 1788 by a narrow vote of 187 to 168 after Federalists agreed to support amendments. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, technically launching the new government, but Federalists then secured ratification in Virginia (June 25) and New York (July 26) to ensure the union would hold.

After ratification many Federalists joined Hamilton's Federalist Party in the 1790s, which favored a strong central government, manufacturing, and a national bank. The party faded after the War of 1812.