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The Constitution and the Founding of America
Ratification of the Constitution
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science The Constitution and the Founding of America Ratification of the Constitution
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science The Constitution and the Founding of America
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science
Political Science Textbooks
Political Science
Concept Version 10
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The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers were written between 1788-9 and encouraged people to ask their representatives to ratify the Constitution.

Learning Objective

  • Identify the three authors of, the individual papers in, and the principal reasons behind the Federalist Papers.


Key Points

    • Federalist Paper No. 10 said that the Constitution had a check and balance system so that no branch of government dominated the other.
    • Federalist no. 51 said that a government like the U.S. naturally prevented factions from forming, thus protecting the peoples'--not the government's--interests.
    • The Anti-Federalists had several complaints with the Constitution. One of their biggest was that the Constitution did not provide for a Bill of Rights protecting the people.

Terms

  • Alexander Hamilton

    Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757[1] – July 12, 1804) was a Founding Father,[2] soldier, economist, and political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.

  • Federalist Papers

    The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

  • James Madison

    James Madison, Jr. (March 16, 1751 (O.S. March 5) – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman and political theorist, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817). He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for being instrumental in the drafting of the United States Constitution and as the key champion and author of the United States Bill of Rights.

  • federalist

    statesman or public figure supporting the proposed Constitution of the United States between 1787 and 1789


Full Text

The Federalist Papers

During 1788 and 1789, there were 85 essays published in several New York State newspapers, designed to convince New York and Virginia voters to ratify the Constitution. The three people who are generally acknowledged for writing these essays are Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Since Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were considered Federalists, this series of essays became known as The Federalist Papers. One of the most famous Federalist Papers is Federalist No. 10, which was written by Madison and argues that the checks and balances in the Constitution prevent the government from falling victim to factions. Anti-Federalists did not support ratification. Madison also wrote Federalist No. 51, under the name "Publius" or "Public. " He argues here that each branch of government would not be dependent on other branches and, thus, forming factions within the national government. That way, the government can work in the best interests of the people and not each other.

The Federalist Papers

Title page of the first printing of the Federalist Papers.

Many individuals, such as Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee, were Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalists had several complaints with the Constitution. One of their biggest was that the Constitution did not provide for a Bill of Rights protecting the people. They also thought the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government and too little to individual states. A third complaint of the Anti-Federalists was that senators and the president were not directly elected by the people, and the House of Representatives was elected every two years instead of annually. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution. The vote was unanimous, 30-0. Pennsylvania followed on December 12, and New Jersey ratified on December 18, also in a unanimous vote. By summer 1788, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York had ratified the Constitution, and it went into effect. On August 2, 1788, North Carolina refused to ratify the Constitution without amendments, but it relented and ratified it a year later.

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