The Federalist Papers

Alexander Hamilton · John Jay · James Madison

maalis 2020 · Open Road Media

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Eighty-five articles and essays by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison that interpret and promote the US Constitution.

Three of America’s Founding Fathers—Alexander Hamilton, General George Washington’s chief of staff and first secretary of the treasury; John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States; and James Madison, father of the Constitution, author of the Bill of Rights, and fourth president of the United States—embarked on an anonymous public relations campaign to promote the ratification of the US Constitution. Beginning in 1787, their articles appeared in three New York newspapers: The Independent Journal, the New-York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser. Written under the pseudonym Publius, their writings were a masterful analysis and interpretation of the Constitution, explaining the principles upon which the US government was founded.
 
To this day, the Federalist Papers remain “an authoritative resource for academics, lawyers, and judges—including Supreme Court justices—to use to interpret the Constitution and to determine its original, or historic, meaning” (National Constitution Center).

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Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757–1804) was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, economist, and Founding Father of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the US Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation’s financial system, the Federalist Party, the US Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. As the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of George Washington’s administration. He took the lead in the federal government’s funding of the states’ debts, as well as establishing a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain. His vision included a strong central government led by a vigorous executive branch, a strong commercial economy, a national bank and support for manufacturing, and a strong military. Thomas Jefferson was Hamilton’s leading opponent, arguing for agrarianism and smaller government.

John Jay (1745–1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father of the United States, and abolitionist. He was also the negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, second governor of New York, and first chief justice of the United States (1789–1795). Jay directed US foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the US Constitution in 1788.

James Madison (1751–1836) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, philosopher, and Founding Father of the United States. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817, and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the US Bill of Rights. Madison cowrote The Federalist Papers, cofounded the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as the fifth United States secretary of state from 1801 to 1809.