Synopsis
The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. While many individuals today insist that we cannot know what the Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the U. S. Constitution, one needs look no farther than The Federalist Papers to see, in their own words, the answers to many of the questions that arise regarding that very document. What was to be the role of the Federal Government in taxation, defense, and trade? What limits were placed on Federal power? What about Federal Power vis-à-vis the power of the States? What if there were disagreements between the States? All these questions and more are addressed in this volume, written by those who knew a stronger central government was needed, while recognizing that there needed to be checks and balances to that power.
Review
"This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren ... should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties." So wrote John Jay, one of the revolutionary authors of The Federalist Papers, arguing that if the United States was truly to be a single nation, its leaders would have to agree on universally binding rules of governance--in short, a constitution. In a brilliant set of essays, Jay and his colleagues Alexander Hamilton and James Madison explored in minute detail the implications of establishing a kind of rule that would engage as many citizens as possible and that would include a system of checks and balances. Their arguments proved successful in the end, and The Federalist Papers stand as key documents in the founding of the United States.
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