The Federalist papers are a series of 85 essays published during 1787–88. Three important founders of the United States—Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—wrote the essays. They wanted to convince New Yorkers to ratify, or approve, the new U.S. Constitution.

Background

After the American Revolution, the U.S. government was based on a document called the Articles of Confederation. Many people thought that that government was too weak. In 1787 representatives from 12 states met in Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation. They ended up writing an entirely new document: the U.S. Constitution.

Before the Constitution could take effect, the states had to ratify it. Supporters of the Constitution realized that they would have to convince the people that a change in the structure of their government was a good idea. Those supporters called themselves Federalists because the new Constitution would set up a federal system of government. This meant power would be balanced between a strong central government and the states. Some famous Federalists included George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

Opponents of the Constitution were called Anti-Federalists. They argued that the new government would be too strong. Some famous Anti-Federalists were Samuel Adams, George Mason, and Patrick Henry.

Many New Yorkers did not like the new Constitution. Two New York delegates, Robert Yates and John Lansing, left the Constitutional Convention because they hated the shape of the new government. Albany, the capital of New York, was a major Anti-Federalist city. In fact, Hamilton was the only New Yorker at the convention to sign the Constitution.

Writing the papers

To convince New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution, Hamilton began writing articles in New York newspapers. Madison and John Jay then joined him. Instead of signing their names, they used a made-up name, Publius. For that reason, it is not always clear who wrote which essays. Hamilton wrote at least 50 of the essays, Madison wrote about 30, and Jay wrote 5.

The authors of the Federalist papers claimed that the Constitution would fix the problems caused by the weak Articles of Confederation. However, the authors knew that many people worried that the new government might be too strong. Therefore, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay explained how the Constitution would prevent a dictatorship through federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances. (For information on those features of the Constitution, see United States Constitution.)

Impact

The Federalist papers were widely read by educated New Yorkers. However, the essays probably played a small role in the debate over ratification. New York ratified the Constitution on July 26, 1788, but only by a narrow vote.

People in the United States did not always consider the Federalist papers a great work. Scholars in the early 20th century claimed that the Federalist papers defended the interests of the wealthy and powerful instead of the majority of the people. Today, however, most scholars consider the Federalist papers an excellent reference for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. Constitution.