THE FEDERALIST PAPERS
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist; or, The New Constitution, was published in two volumes in 1788 by J. and A. McLean. The series’ correct title is The Federalist; the title The Federalist Papers did not emerge until the twentieth century.
The Federalist remains a primary source for interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, as the essays outline a lucid and compelling version of the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. The authors of The Federalist wanted both to influence the vote in favor of ratification and to shape future interpretations of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson called the Federalist Papers the best commentary ever written about the principles of government.
This version of the Federalist Papers contains the full text of the essay followed by a summary or short version.
The Federalist Papers
| # | Date | Title | ||
| 1 | 1787 | Oct | 27 | General Introduction |
| 2 | 1787 | Oct | 31 | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence |
| 3 | 1787 | Nov | 3 | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
| 4 | 1787 | Nov | 7 | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
| 5 | 1787 | Nov | 10 | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
| 6 | 1787 | Nov | 14 | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States |
| 7 | 1787 | Nov | 15 | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States (continued) and Particular Causes Enumerated |
| 8 | 1787 | Nov | 20 | Consequences of Hostilities Between the States |
| 9 | 1787 | Nov | 21 | The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection |
| 10 | 1787 | Nov | 22 | The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued) |
| 11 | 1787 | Nov | 24 | The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy |
| 12 | 1787 | Nov | 27 | The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue |
| 13 | 1787 | Nov | 28 | Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government |
| 14 | 1787 | Nov | 30 | Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered |
| 15 | 1787 | Dec | 1 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union |
| 16 | 1787 | Dec | 4 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
| 17 | 1787 | Dec | 5 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
| 18 | 1787 | Dec | 7 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
| 19 | 1787 | Dec | 8 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
| 20 | 1787 | Dec | 11 | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
| 21 | 1787 | Dec | 12 | Other Defects of the Present Confederation |
| 22 | 1787 | Dec | 14 | Other Defects of the Present Confederation (continued) |
| 23 | 1787 | Dec | 18 | Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union |
| 24 | 1787 | Dec | 19 | Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered |
| 25 | 1787 | Dec | 21 | Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered (continued) |
| 26 | 1787 | Dec | 22 | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered |
| 27 | 1787 | Dec | 25 | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) |
| 28 | 1787 | Dec | 26 | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) |
| 29 | 1788 | Jan | 9 | Concerning the Militia |
| 30 | 1787 | Dec | 28 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation |
| 31 | 1788 | Jan | 1 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 32 | 1788 | Jan | 2 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 33 | 1788 | Jan | 2 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 34 | 1788 | Jan | 5 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 35 | 1788 | Jan | 5 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 36 | 1788 | Jan | 8 | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
| 37 | 1788 | Jan | 11 | Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government |
| 38 | 1788 | Jan | 12 | The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed |
| 39 | 1788 | Jan | 16 | Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles |
| 40 | 1788 | Jan | 18 | On the Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained |
| 41 | 1788 | Jan | 19 | General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution |
| 42 | 1788 | Jan | 22 | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered |
| 43 | 1788 | Jan | 23 | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered (continued) |
| 44 | 1788 | Jan | 25 | Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States |
| 45 | 1788 | Jan | 26 | Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered |
| 46 | 1788 | Jan | 29 | The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared |
| 47 | 1788 | Jan | 30 | The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts |
| 48 | 1788 | Feb | 1 | These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other |
| 49 | 1788 | Feb | 2 | Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention |
| 50 | 1788 | Feb | 5 | Periodical Appeals to the People Considered |
| 51 | 1788 | Feb | 6 | The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments |
| 52 | 1788 | Feb | 8 | The House of Representatives |
| 53 | 1788 | Feb | 9 | The House of Representatives (continued) |
| 54 | 1788 | Feb | 12 | Apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives Among the States |
| 55 | 1788 | Feb | 13 | The Total Number of the House of Representatives |
| 56 | 1788 | Feb | 16 | The Total Number of the House of Representatives (continued) |
| 57 | 1788 | Feb | 19 | The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation |
| 58 | 1788 | Feb | 20 | Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered |
| 59 | 1788 | Feb | 22 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members |
| 60 | 1788 | Feb | 23 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) |
| 61 | 1788 | Feb | 26 | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) |
| 62 | 1788 | Feb | 27 | The Senate |
| 63 | 1788 | Mar | 1 | The Senate (continued) |
| 64 | 1788 | Mar | 5 | The Powers of the Senate |
| 65 | 1788 | Mar | 7 | The Powers of the Senate (continued) |
| 66 | 1788 | Mar | 8 | Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered |
| 67 | 1788 | Mar | 11 | The Executive Department |
| 68 | 1788 | Mar | 12 | The Mode of Electing the President |
| 69 | 1788 | Mar | 14 | The Real Character of the Executive |
| 70 | 1788 | Mar | 15 | The Executive Department Further Considered |
| 71 | 1788 | Mar | 18 | The Duration in Office of the Executive |
| 72 | 1788 | Mar | 19 | The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered |
| 73 | 1788 | Mar | 21 | The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power |
| 74 | 1788 | Mar | 25 | The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive |
| 75 | 1788 | Mar | 26 | The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive |
| 76 | 1788 | Apr | 1 | The Appointing Power of the Executive |
| 77 | 1788 | Apr | 2 | The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered |
| 78 | 1788 | Jun | 14 | The Judiciary Department |
| 79 | 1788 | Jun | 18 | The Judiciary Continued |
| 80 | 1788 | Jun | 21 | The Powers of the Judiciary |
| 81 | 1788 | Jun | 25 28 |
The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority |
| 82 | 1788 | Jul | 2 | The Judiciary Continued |
| 83 | 1788 | Jul | 5 9 12 |
The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury |
| 84 | 1788 | JulAug | 16 26 9 |
Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered |
| 85 | 1788 | Aug | 13 16 |
Concluding Remarks |
The majority of the Federalist Paper posts contain a summary for easy scanning.
Good reading. I got through about half of them and the Anti-federalist papers a couple years ago. The rest are on my bucket list. (Along with just getting off my ass.) I do appreciate you site. Everyone should read at least some of the FPs.
Thanks, I appreciate the compliment and your support!!
I think it would be wise to also post the Anti-Federalist Papers… since most of the fears of an over reaching and over bearing federal government made by them have come to pass. Just saying.
Yes the Anti-Federalist paper did talk about over reaching and if they start posting those, then they need to post the Articles of Confederation so we can see weak ideal get us in the same problem.
I agree – I’m glad for the Federalist Papers being available, and understand the monumental effort that takes. But the Anti-Federalist papers would be a great resource to compare and contrast. Coincidentally, I’ve created an easy-to-read PDF resource highlighting some of the Anti-Federalist thoughts. It’s called “The 1787 Constitutional Debates: Federal vs. Anti-Federal”, and is available at http://missouritenth.wordpress.com/resource-downloads/
The Anti-Federalist papers ARE posted. Fantastic site, and wonderful resource for anyone studying the subject.
The anti-federalist papers are here: http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/anti-federalist-papers
Great resource! We have included much of it in our book, written for young people. Please check it out.
I am a student of our government, how it was founded, what form of government we actually formed versus what it is today. Thank you for posting these articles. I have access to a large quantity of pocket sized copies of the US Constitution that includes the articles of Confederation, all Amendments, information regarding all the Signers and drafters of the documents and famous quotes from these founders. With my quantity discount I can sell and ship them to anyone interested for $4.95. Not trying to make money just want to get accurate info in people’s hands. Great tool for students. Drop me a message if interested.
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AMAZING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT
Isn’t it amazing that, within only one week of Tiger Woods crashing his Escalade, the press found every woman with whom Tiger has had an affair during the last few years? And, they even uncovered photos, text messages, recorded phone calls, etc.! Furthermore, they not only know the cause of the family fight, but they even know it was a wedge from his golf bag that his wife used to break out the windows in the Escalade. Not only that, they know which wedge! And, each & every day, they were able to continue to provide America with updates on Tiger’s sex rehab stay,
his wife’s plans for divorce, as well as the dates & tournaments in which he will play.
Now, Barack Obama has been in office for over two years, yet this very same press:
· Cannot find any of his childhood friends or neighbors;
· Or find his birth certificate;
· Or find any of Obama’s high school or college classmates;
· Or locate any of his college papers or grades;
· Or determine how he paid for both a Columbia & a Harvard education;
· Or discover which country issued his visa to travel to Pakistan in the 1980′s;
· Or even find Michelle Obama’s Princeton thesis on racism.
They just can’t seem to uncover any of this.
Yet, the public still trusts that same press to give them the whole truth!
Simply amazing, isn’t it?
sheep, with no cognitive thought plan, in other words IDIOTS. I”m just saying????
Simply OUTSTANDING. Great effort and an even better result and reward with the broader spread of these important documents. Thank you.
In God We Trust
We have a system that entirely is based on the belief that there is a God to Whom We are morally accountable. Otherwise Liberty does Not Work.
You either have a people who believe in accountability to God or there will be an accountability to The State. As Secularism Increases The State Increases.
The Religious believe people can be good if there is accountability to God.
But if there is no God to be morally accountability to, you better be accountable to the State. So the State takes over where Religion has Abandon.
The Left wants to Remove God as to the Accountable-to Party and you make the Government in Lieu of God.
God is essential to the American Experiment. It Can Not Work Without God.
We don’t demand that people believe in God, but we do demand that Americans understand that the American Experiment is impossible if God is Removed.
It is God, Liberty and E pluribus unum that’s exceptional.
We were raised on the belief that we take care of ourselves and our fellow human beings our Parents, our Children, our neighbors.
The notion that “the state will take care of me” is indeed UnAmerican. It is a Bad Idea
It Doesn’t Raise Good People.
Thank you James–too bad that such knowledge can no longer be taught in our schools.
Is there a way to download the Fed Letters all at once?
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