The Federalist: The Essential Essays, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (The Bedford Series in History and Culture) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031224732X ISBN 13: 9780312247324

Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003

Synopsis

Considered the United States’ greatest contribution to the “canon” of western political theory, The Federalist is a series of 85 essays first published between the early fall of 1787 and the spring of 1788 supporting the ratification of the Constitution. In a new edition of this work, Jack Rakove presents the most critical and frequently assigned Federalist essays with an introduction to current scholarly thinking about the Constitution and the role these essays played in its adoption. Headnotes for each essay help identify the specific arguments being made in response to Anti-Federalist concerns, making the collection’s import more readily apparent to students. Related writings by Hamilton and Madison help set the Federalist in historical context.

About this title

About the Author:

Jack Rakove is the W. R. Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor of political science at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1980. He is the author of four books: The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress (1979); James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic (revised edition, 2001); Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (1996), which won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in history; and Declaring Rights: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin's, 1997). He has also contributed essays and articles to numerous scholarly collections, law reviews, and newspapers. In 1998 he testified at the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearings on the background and history of impeachment and has served as a consultant and expert witness in the recent litigation over the use of sampling procedures in the decennial federal census.

Review:

'Rakove's introduction compresses an incredible amount of material into a coherent, accessible essay that identifies the major themes, people, and events of the constitutional period and sets them in context. Rakove not only synthesizes the most recent scholarship but presents original insights that are worthy of discussion in themselves... Both scholars and undergraduates can learn something from this essay.' - Rosemary Zaggari, George Mason University '[D}istinctive and highly recommendable... especially for the first-time reader unversed in early American history.' - Andrew Glencross, Government and Policy

About this edition

• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 031224732X
• ISBN 13: 9780312247324
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 250
• Editor: Rakove Jack N.