The Federalist Papers

Written to win a fierce ratification fight, these eighty-five essays first appeared in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the shared pen name Publius. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay set out to convince a skeptical public that the proposed Constitution could hold a large republic together without sliding into tyranny or chaos. Along the way they explain the logic of separated powers, checks and balances, federalism, and the dangers of faction, with Madison’s tenth and fifty-first essays still quoted in courtrooms and classrooms today. More than persuasion, the collection has become the closest thing America has to a commentary on its own founding charter. Available free as a PDF and EPUB edition.