The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers, probably next to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in terms of importance, are a series of articles written to help boost the campaign to ratify the newly-drafted Constitution of the United States. The principal authors of these papers were Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. To give the impression these articles were written by a single person, they all wrote under a common pen name, Publius alluding to the famed Roman consul Publius Valerius Publicola. There were a total of 85 articles written between October of 1789 and May of 1788. It is interesting to note that these papers were written particularly to sell the idea of accepting the Constitution in the state of New York. Of all the existing states at the time, New York was one of the critical ones where the fate of the Constitution rests. During the Constitutional Convention, New Yorks delegates walked out and its governor, George Clinton, strongly opposed the Constitution because it would upset the balance of power of the state by compromising its autonomy guaranteed by the Articles of Confederation making the state far more prosperous through the taxes and other duties it imposed on its neighbors.
It can be inferred from the Federalist Papers that Hamilton and Madison, who also happened to be two of the delegates to helped draft the Constitution, had faith in the peoples ethics in helping to establish a republican government as opposed to either maintaining the status quo of the unstable Confederation Congress or reverting to the absolute monarchy which they expelled in the war of independence. Furthermore, they are sure nobody would want to go back to the latter. In spite of the strong skepticism of the people, Hamilton, pin particular was very optisimistic that the Constitution will be accepted by all. In the first essay, he made his case very clear. Through the first article, he began by telling the people how a strong central government would still be beneficial to them (New York), inadequate the present government was (the Confederation Congress) and one key point was to compare the Constitution with their own Constitution to see that there was no conflict of interest whatsoever. In addition, he stated that they had nothing to lose by being part of this Union.
In the the 8th article, also written by Hamilton, he further emphasized the need for this collective security to prevent any conflict from happening between the states as well as from any foreign invasion. This collective security under the Union is sure to bring about peace and order making the United States conducive and ripe for economic stability. He further cited the case of Europe where wars have occurred for centuries because of their division. He made an inference that wars would not happen in Europe if only they were united under one government although during that time, it was wishful thinking and an idea of a united Europe was rather far-fetched during the 18th century. He went to add that because of Americas geographical isolation, the Union is preserved from the troubles and chaos of Europe as well as any threat it may pose. This insularity would be Americas best defense against any threat. This was further complimented by the 10th article, written by Madison, which dealt with protection against internal conflicts.
It can be inferred that while democracy was something people back then and even until now desire, it would be realistically impossible to practice given the diversity of the people of the United States. It was for this reason the Constitution was created calling for a strong central government to help promote stability. Madison cited that there will be factions and these factions would want to promote their interests and it would come to the point when their interests would clash with the interests of another faction of equal caliber. When these two (or more) factions would keep asserting their own interests, conflict would ensure.
The role then of a strong central government would be to regulate these factions, to keep them under control. Realistically, it would be impossible to take away the causes of the conflict and to attempt to do so would mean suspending liberties which would make people decry a return to tyranny. Furthermore, the role of this strong central government would also to serve as damage control to the problems these factions would cause.
In the 51st article, written jointly by Hamilton and Madison, it talks about the separation of powers of this strong central government guaranteed by the Constitution. While they were selling the idea of having a strong central government, Hamilton and Madison somehow sensed the apparent skepticism, or fears of the people of having such a government with so many powers, especially if it would be concentrated on one individual or institution, thereby inviting tyranny to set in. In this article, both Hamilton and Madison tried to allay these fears by stating the feature of the separation of powers among the different branches of government the executive, legislative and judiciary. They will each have specific powers and these powers do not overlap but rather serve as a check and balance to prevent one from becoming too powerful or prevent the usurpation of powers, thereby preventing any tyrants from emerging.
In conclusion, the authors of the Federalist Papers, were hopeful that the American people could be trusted in creating and maintaining a republican form of government. They were very optimistic and about two centuries later, they were proven to be correct in their belief. They admit that the Constitution has flaws but for them, it was by far the best they could offer for the United States of America and fortunately, the generations of Americans have made it work despite its deficiencies.
It can be inferred from the Federalist Papers that Hamilton and Madison, who also happened to be two of the delegates to helped draft the Constitution, had faith in the peoples ethics in helping to establish a republican government as opposed to either maintaining the status quo of the unstable Confederation Congress or reverting to the absolute monarchy which they expelled in the war of independence. Furthermore, they are sure nobody would want to go back to the latter. In spite of the strong skepticism of the people, Hamilton, pin particular was very optisimistic that the Constitution will be accepted by all. In the first essay, he made his case very clear. Through the first article, he began by telling the people how a strong central government would still be beneficial to them (New York), inadequate the present government was (the Confederation Congress) and one key point was to compare the Constitution with their own Constitution to see that there was no conflict of interest whatsoever. In addition, he stated that they had nothing to lose by being part of this Union.
In the the 8th article, also written by Hamilton, he further emphasized the need for this collective security to prevent any conflict from happening between the states as well as from any foreign invasion. This collective security under the Union is sure to bring about peace and order making the United States conducive and ripe for economic stability. He further cited the case of Europe where wars have occurred for centuries because of their division. He made an inference that wars would not happen in Europe if only they were united under one government although during that time, it was wishful thinking and an idea of a united Europe was rather far-fetched during the 18th century. He went to add that because of Americas geographical isolation, the Union is preserved from the troubles and chaos of Europe as well as any threat it may pose. This insularity would be Americas best defense against any threat. This was further complimented by the 10th article, written by Madison, which dealt with protection against internal conflicts.
It can be inferred that while democracy was something people back then and even until now desire, it would be realistically impossible to practice given the diversity of the people of the United States. It was for this reason the Constitution was created calling for a strong central government to help promote stability. Madison cited that there will be factions and these factions would want to promote their interests and it would come to the point when their interests would clash with the interests of another faction of equal caliber. When these two (or more) factions would keep asserting their own interests, conflict would ensure.
The role then of a strong central government would be to regulate these factions, to keep them under control. Realistically, it would be impossible to take away the causes of the conflict and to attempt to do so would mean suspending liberties which would make people decry a return to tyranny. Furthermore, the role of this strong central government would also to serve as damage control to the problems these factions would cause.
In the 51st article, written jointly by Hamilton and Madison, it talks about the separation of powers of this strong central government guaranteed by the Constitution. While they were selling the idea of having a strong central government, Hamilton and Madison somehow sensed the apparent skepticism, or fears of the people of having such a government with so many powers, especially if it would be concentrated on one individual or institution, thereby inviting tyranny to set in. In this article, both Hamilton and Madison tried to allay these fears by stating the feature of the separation of powers among the different branches of government the executive, legislative and judiciary. They will each have specific powers and these powers do not overlap but rather serve as a check and balance to prevent one from becoming too powerful or prevent the usurpation of powers, thereby preventing any tyrants from emerging.
In conclusion, the authors of the Federalist Papers, were hopeful that the American people could be trusted in creating and maintaining a republican form of government. They were very optimistic and about two centuries later, they were proven to be correct in their belief. They admit that the Constitution has flaws but for them, it was by far the best they could offer for the United States of America and fortunately, the generations of Americans have made it work despite its deficiencies.
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