The Federalist

by Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; Jay, John; Wright, Benjamin F.

• ISBN13: 9781586635725
• ISBN10: 1586635727
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Friedman/Fairfax Pub

Summary

At the height of the debates over the adoption of the Constitution in 1787-88, a series of articles began to appear in a New York journal. Their author, calling himself "Publius, " urged the ratification of the new constitution, offering -- in Thomas Jefferson's words -- "the best commentary on the principles of government which was ever written."

These eighty-five articles, commonly known as "The Federalist Papers, " were, in reality, the work of three men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay Their purpose was to persuade convention voters -- and ultimately the general public -- that the old government, as it existed under the Articles of the Confederation, was defective and that the proposed constitution, with its three branches of government, was the best means of realizing the ideals of justice and individual rights. These papers were soon collected and printed in book form in 1788 under the title The Federalist. This updated edition features an introduction by editor Benjamin Wright -- a nearly book-length study of The Federalist's influence

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Introduction
Benjamin Fletcher Wright
The First National Referendum	1	(6)
The Authorship of The Federalist	7	(4)
The Aims of a More Perfect Union	11	(15)
Human Nature, Motives, and Factions	26	(15)
The New Federalism	41	(8)
Direct and Representative Democracy	49	(10)
The Structure of a Free Government	59	(8)
Fundamental Law and the Judicial Guardians	67	(10)
The Rational Appeal to Self-Interest	77	(12)
THE FEDERALIST
Introduction	89	(4)
The Natural Advantages of Union	93	(4)
Union as a Requisite for National Safety	97	(3)
Relations with Foreign Powers	100	(5)
Separate Confederacies and Foreign Pourers	105	(3)
Disunion and Dissension Among the States	108	(5)
Causes of Wars Among the States if Disunited	113	(6)
Consequences of Wars Between States	119	(5)
Union as a Barrier to Faction and Insurrection	124	(5)
The Size and Variety of the Union as a Check on Faction	129	(7)
The Value of Union to Commerce and the Advantages of a Navy	136	(6)
Union and the National Revenue	142	(5)
Union and Economy in Government	147	(3)
Representative Republics and Direct Democracies	150	(5)
Defects of the Confederation	155	(7)
Inability of the Confederation to Enforce Its Laws	162	(5)
The Future Balance of State and National Powers	167	(4)
The Greek Confederacies	171	(5)
Medieval and Modern Confederacies	176	(6)
The Netherlands Confederacy	182	(4)
Defects of the Present Confederation	186	(5)
The Confederation: Lack of Powers and of Proper Ratification	191	(8)
The Necessity of an Energetic and Active National Government	199	(4)
To Provide for the Common Defense	203	(5)
The States and the Common Defense	208	(5)
The Powers of Congress and the Common Defense	213	(6)
The Enforcement of the Supreme Law of the Land	219	(3)
A National Army and Internal Security	222	(4)
The Regulation of the Militia	226	(5)
A General Power of Taxation	231	(5)
The Necessity of a National Power of Taxation	236	(4)
Exclusive and Concurrent Powers of Taxation	240	(4)
The Constitutionality of National Tax Laws	244	(4)
Concurrent Authority in Taxation	248	(5)
Further Reasons for an Indefinite Power of Taxation	253	(6)
Internal Taxes: Direct and Indirect	259	(6)
Problems Confronting the Federal Convention	265	(7)
Inconsistencies of Opponents of Ratification	272	(8)
Republicanism, Nationalism, Federalism	280	(6)
The Authority of the Convention	286	(7)
Powers Delegated to the General Government: I	293	(9)
Powers Delegated to the General Government: II	302	(7)
Powers Delegated to the General Government: III	309	(8)
Restrictions on Powers of the States	317	(7)
Powers and Continuing Advantages of the States	324	(5)
State and Federal Powers Compared	329	(7)
The Separation of Powers: I	336	(7)
The Separation of Powers: II	343	(4)
Appeal to the People in Cases of Disagreement	347	(5)
Periodical Appeals to the People	352	(3)
Checks and Balances	355	(4)
The House of Representatives	359	(5)
Annual and Biennial Elections	364	(5)
The Apportionment of Representatives and of Taxes	369	(5)
The House and Knowledge of Local Circumstances	374	(5)
Adequacy of Representation in the House	379	(4)
The Popular Basis of the House	383	(5)
The Future Size of the House	388	(5)
National Regulation of Congressional Elections	393	(5)
Safety in National Control of Elections	398	(5)
Uniformity in the National Control of Elections to the House	403	(4)
The Nature and the Stabilizing Influence of the Senate	407	(6)
The Necessity of a Senate	413	(7)
The Senate and the Treaty Power	420	(6)
The Senate: Appointments and Impeachments	426	(5)
The Senate: Further Consideration of the Impeachment Power	431	(5)
The Executive	436	(4)
The Method of Electing the President	440	(4)
Comparison of the President with Other Executives	444	(7)
Advantages of a Single Executive	451	(7)
The Presidential Term of Office	458	(4)
Re-eligibility of the President	462	(5)
The-Presidential Salary and Veto	467	(6)
The Military and Pardoning Powers of the President	473	(2)
The President and the Treaty Power	475	(5)
The President and the Appointing Power	480	(4)
The Powers of the President Concluded	484	(5)
The Judges as Guardians of the Constitution	489	(8)
The Position of the Judiciary	497	(2)
Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts	499	(6)
Distribution of the Judicial Power	505	(9)
The State and the Federal Courts	514	(4)
Trial by Jury	518	(13)
The Lack of a Bill of Rights	531	(10)
Conclusion	541	(8)
Index	549