What are the Federalist Papers?

I'm sure most, if not all of you have heard of the Federalist Papers, and most probably know they deal with and talk about the Constitution. But beyond that I find fewer people know what the Federalist Papers are.

After the Convention of 1787, also known as the Constitution Convention, the future of the proposed Constitution was anything far from certain. In fact, the future of the drafted Constitution was very much in doubt, and had fierce opposition from the outset, including from delegates who participated in the Convention. Some states were fairly quick to ratify the Constitution in their respective State Conventions, but several, including New York were not so fast to act.

The Constitution required nine States to ratify it, to cause it to go into effect for those states that ratified, meaning it could take just five State to reject it and prevent it implementation. The times were desperate for the young nation, the Articles of Confederation were failing (Why the Articles of Confederation failed) and without the problems under the Articles of Confederation fixed, the economy, dignity and governments of the United States would almost certainly fall. The proposed Constitution was written to address these issues and complete the American Revolution.

Original Argument (Quick Thoughts)

I really do not like endorsing or encouraging people to purchase things, I would prefer them to choose on their own, and most references I use are free on the public domain. But this one I will, Glenn Becks "Original Argument".

This book takes the Federalists or more commonly called "The Federalist Papers" and adapts them from the 18th Century to the 21st Century. The Federalists were written by James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton from 1787-1788 to the people of New York in support of the proposed Constitution. This was the first and original complete argument for the Constitution from beginning to end.

Two of the three authors, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were delegates and signers at the Constitution Convention of 1787. John Jay were New Yorkers while Madison was from Virginia and was asked by Hamilton to assist in this project. They used the pseudonym "Publius" in their writings to the people of New York, with 85 essays being printed over the course.

The Federalists explained the Constitution, its objectives, what the meaning of nearly every part was meant to be, what powers belonged to what body, the Federal or State Governments or the People. They countered arguments against the Constitution, and in the end helped persuade the New York Convention to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788.

The Federalists are one of the most important pieces in understanding the Original Intention AND Meaning of the Constitution during the era of ratification and the granting of power to form this Federal Government. Various papers and resources exist from the era which also contribute, but perhaps none are more widely known than those of the Federalists. They are cited in Supreme Court opinions, are cited by scholars, historians and Constitutionalists. Even though written over 220 years ago, their value has not diminished, because very documents have such a direct and complete connection to the Constitution and what it meant to the people, then the writings of the Federalists.

But the contemporary problem with the Federalist Papers is to fully understand them, it requires a lot of cross referencing or prior knowledge to understand some of their analogies or how they relate them to certain situations. With out understanding all these parts, some of the argument can easily be lost and even confusing.

This book takes the Original Argument, and adapts it using today's references and language so the cross referencing and prior knowledge is not as required, but the goal is the same. It makes the argument for supporting the Constitution as it was understood in the 1780's. This is a good read, but do not substitute it for not reading the actual Federalists, use it as a companion, and make up your own mind if the Original Argument was correct.

Amazon link to the Book

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Argument-Federalists-Constitution-Adapted/dp/1451650612

General Welfare (Part 7) The Federalist presentation.

Following the Constitution Convention of 1787, the next order of business was to present the proposed Constitution to the States for ratification, and more importantly, convince a skeptical public that is should be ratified. From this two main groups formed, one called the Federalist with the other being the Anti-Federalist. Each wrote numerous Articles either for or against the Ratification of the Constitution. For the Federalist, the Federalist Papers are by far the most commonly known writings attributed to the Federalist, though other Pro-Federalist writings did also get published.