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The Federalist Papers

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It is the best edition of the Federalist Papers with a Constitution and Bill of Rights added at the end.

The Federalist Papers is probably the most seminal discourse on the U.S. Constitution that has ever been written. While there are occasional inconsistencies and undoubtedly many of the founding fathers that took part in the Constitutional Convention and favored adoption of the Constitution would disagree with some of its contents, it is vital reading if one hopes to understand the original intent of the founders.

The arguments for a union:
1. Union was necessary for commerce
2. Commerce facilitated a need for a National Bank
3. Banks charge interest
4. The role of government is to raise revenue from the taxation of commerce
5. The Union represented a favorable trade partner for the world
6. A federal army was created too defend the union
7. Independant States are inheritantly dangerous; this was danger caused by territorial disputes, large state standing armies against small state standing armies, and inconsistent monetary policy fustrating external countries from doing business; whereas, a union represented stability and consistency for the trade partners.

The balance of Power is false - the three branches don't hold power equally:
1. Power is controlled by the legislative branch, the legislative branch creates laws; the executive enforces the law; and the Judical intreprets the law.
2. The executive power increases in power during war
3. The judical branch is the weakest of all the branches. The judical branch was not expected to an powerful entity.
4. The republic form of government is a defense against the imperial monarchy. Sovereignty resides in the states. Bad laws can be opposed by a minority of states. States receive equal representation in the senate. The delegates are too vote against bad laws, this equality prevents tyrancal laws. If a majority of the republic supports bad laws then the people have the ultimate power to revolt and gain control of the government.

For those newly awakened to American politics, nothing is more important than the Federalist Papers. The federal government now violates almost every principle of government, and every rationale for its existence, as given by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. From a government of limited and enumerated powers, celebrated by these Founders, we now have a government that, in the belief of most and the frank admission of many, is a government of unlimited power. They would call this tyranny, and say why. Americans sleep through it, waiting for the check in the mailbox.

The Federalist Papers are rightly considered one of the most authoritative explanations of the provisions of the Constitution in existence. While much further interpretation and definition of the Constitution has taken place over the past 200+ years through the slow accretion of judicial interpretation, the Federalist remains the source for a contemporary explanation of the political causes and justification for virtually every clause in the Constitution.

Some passages are less thrilling than others but Nos. 10, 39, 48, and 51 are about as good as it gets in terms of explicating the structure of what became the US government.

A must read for political science majors, history majors and selected parts for high school students in every government course.

I can hardly offer enough praise for this work. While most Americans have probably read the constituion at least once in their life, it is a shame that so many people are daunted by the task of reading what may be one of the best political pamphlets of all time. To truly understand the constituion and what its writers thought concerning its application it is necessary to understand the political climate of the day and some of the problems facing those who saw the necessity of doing away with the failed system of government under the Articles of Confederation.

Hamilton, Madison, and to a lesser extent Jay, all offer the reader with a first-hand look behind the writing of the constituion and help to explain such misunderstood principles of our government such as the differnces between a nationalist and a federalist system of government, the necessity of seperation of powers and ckecks and balances, and the electoral college. While some of their perceptions of how the young republic would mature and some of the problems it would face are either laughably naive or downright wrong, considering how much the world has changed since the writing of these papers it is amazing how well they understood the political situtions inherent in all governments; both in their own day and in ours.

The Federalist Papers are a fitting amalgamation of over 2000 years of political thought but they are also an interesting case study in a pragmatic view of human nature which was shared by almost all of the writers of the constituion, that man is inherently flawed and thus a government must be designed so as to protect itself from the fruits of these flaws. While astute and inciteful it is important however to view this work as a political pamphlet (it was origionally written for newspaper publication) and not purely as a work of political philosophy and thus it is full of verbose rhetorical flourishes that sometimes make the authors intent confusing. Still a must read for those who wish to understand anything about political philosophy or human nature.

If a young scholar first understands the history behind these groundbreaking papers, he or she should gain much knowledge from reading them.

Every person in America should read this book before they get involved in politics or begin a career in government.

Read this and understand the true thoughts and meaning behind the Constitution and its Amendments, its interesting to read how the founding fathers interpreted what they wrote in a very different way then the courts and federal gestapo interprete them today. Especially of interest is the paper oon the true meaning of the term "for the general welfare" which has been used to allow all sorts of power grabs from the nuts in Washington, and which has been interpreted completly contrary to what the founding fathers intended. Be a true patriot, read this book.

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other, and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

Obviously, the Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

The Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But, even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.