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 | The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority |
| 82 | 1788 | Jul | 2 | The Judiciary Continued |
| 83 | 1788 | Jul | 5 | The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury |
| 84 | 1788 | Jul | 16 | Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered |
| 85 | 1788 | Aug | 13 | Concluding Remarks |
The majority of the Federalist Paper posts contain a summary for easy scanning.
Thanks!
Thank You..
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.
Would love to have a copy…please let me know how one can be ordered.
Anna DeAngelo
[...] via Federalist Papers | The Federalist Papers. [...]
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.
Knowledge? This is an opinion, and it can’t be taught in our schools because America protects the individuality of her cultures. If a Buddhist or an Agnostic has to listen to the opinions of their teachers in their schools, they won’t want to learn. Stop living a lie. This is why you bible thumpers are mocked– not because you believe in God, but because you want to force everyone else to. You sicken me.
You, Mr. Leal, are very mistaken, which your emotion evidences. You might as well have said the Framers themselves were “Bible thumpers” and this is certainly not true. You demonstrate just how badly the Constitution has been misunderstood, and in many instances, intentionally misinterpreted by those with un-American agendas. In the first place, there is no attempt by the Framers to define God or indicate a preferred God as you imply in another of your comments.
Apparently you believe that the Constitution and how it was derived and by whom should not be taught in our schools. The American culture (singular, not plural as you suggest) includes freedom of religion (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”). You mistake this to mean America is intended to be multi-cultural when it was not. It is one culture composed of assimilated persons who may or may not share the same religious beliefs. If this were not so, we would have to entertain many different systems and laws and that would nullify our supreme law which is the Constitution.
Our system does in fact assume that there is a God (or higher being than man, a creator, whatever one calls the entity) in order to differentiate NATURAL vs. man-made laws. Man-made laws may be changed, but natural, or God-given rights, may not.
YOU ROCK ! AMEN !
Eventually the “In God We Trust” will be removed from dollar bills or anything else having to do with the government. Not everyone believes in YOUR specific “God”, And the US will eventually realize this and pass legislation against it. That’s just how it works here. Get used to it.
David Leal, what is your opinion regarding the words in our Declaration of Independence (…Laws of Nature and Nature’s God…)?
Eventually, the entire nation will fall. I won’t be here. I follow something you will never understand, nor will you allow my people to follow it freely. You give away your freedoms daily to a government that doesn’t care a fig about you. So be it. You will cry in outrage – later. Once everyone loyal to the real American Experience has departed, your country, along with your hopes and dreams will turn to dust. Enjoy your dust bowl.
No, that’s not “just how it works here”. Your snarky “Get used to it,” tells us all we need to know about you and now I’m sorry I bothered to try to help you understand what you clearly did not earlier in this thread.
Amen !
Awesome statement James. Borrowed and posted to my facebook page.Thank you
Is there a way to download the Fed Letters all at once?
Try this site.
[...] Federalist Papers [...]
thank God for websites such as yours you are truly patriots keep up the great work and God Bless you and God Bless America
[...] Federalist Papers [...]
I find statements regarding America being a christian country, with laws based on the bible, and our founding fathers insisting on basing the government on christianity to be sickening. Especially on a site such as this, which presents historically factual material for serious study. Just read the historical documents from that era, the framers explicitly stated their opposition to mixing government and religion. Case after case, in every case where militant christians wanted to legislate their dogma, they were denied. Facts, however have never stood in the way of ignorant people in their quest to make everyone live according to their beliefs….unbelievable…keep religion, whatever faith you want to follow, out of the government, and out of my face.
really? How confusing for you to lash out at history like this. The founding fathers made it clear that morality and God are the foundations of our laws. They did NOT say anyone had to belong to any church, just behave with morality and respect that much. The did NOT want government involved with religion. We are to have freedom OF religion not FROM religion! However, they expected the ‘people’ to hold respect, the kind of respect taught in religion, in order to be accountable & capable of upholding the laws set forth.
Mr. Morton,
I respect the beliefs of others and have never tried to push my beliefs on someone else. I am a Christian man and believe our founding fathers built this country and many of our founding documents on Christian beliefs. I am not sure where you got the opinion that the “…framers explicitly stated their opposition to mixing government and religion.” They were not trying to prevent the mixing of government and religion, but instead were trying to keep the government from passing laws that restricted religion in any way.
Many of our founding fathers saw first-hand how European Nations of that era persecuted anyone of a religion other than that of the national religion the government or royalty mandated as the only religion their citizens were allowed to pursue. During this period, agnostics and atheists were often persecuted worse than people of a religion other than that endorsed by the particular state. So the founding fathers were trying to prevent this kind of tyranny here in this newly forming nation.
If you read the Federalist Papers, there is not a single one that mentions “separation of church and state”. The term “separation of church and state” came from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. The original text reads, “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
The term “separation of church and state” was derived from the last phrase of the above quote alone. If you read the entire quote, that last phrase was taken out of context. The entire quote makes it clear that Thomas Jefferson was explaining, the government must not make laws establishing a national religion or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. His communications was to explain the need to protect religious organizations and individuals from the government and not to protect the government from religious organizations or individuals. This misconception has caused laws to be written restricting citizen’s rights to freely exercise their religion of choice, which is in direct violation of the First Amendment.
I believe that is pretty clear and anyone can understand that an injustice has been done to people of all religions. When any citizen of the United States rights are violated it is tragedy. I believe you have the right to believe any way you see fit, but don’t I have the same right? Don’t my grandchildren have the right to say a Christian prayer aloud in school? I went through two police actions and one war during my career in the military just to ensure you have the right to believe the way you want to, but I also did it to ensure I had the right to pursue my Christian beliefs. I will never try to force my beliefs on you, but please do not restrict me or my grandchildren from our right to exercise our Christian beliefs. This is a two way street and I believe we simply have to work together, with mutual respect for one another, to get along without sickening each other or treading on each other’s rights.
Sir, I respect you and your beliefs, even though I may not agree with them. All I ask for is the same respect in return. I don’t think that is too much to ask from anyone. I will never harp at you trying to convert you to Christianity and if anyone else does put undue presser on you, I apologize for them. They have no right to act in that manner. But remember, if you are ever depressed over something, I may bring up the way I know to help you out. Just tell me you are not interested and that will be the end of my conversation on the topic. Well, take care Mr. Morton. My intent was not to offend you, rather it was to explain how many of us Christians think. It was also to let you know most of us Christians respect you and will not persist on trying to turn you into one of us if you are not willing to listen to our point of view. That is your right as a US Citizen. Again, take care and have a great life in this wonderful country of ours.
Thank you. Well said.
Rick- It’s fairly apparent that we were founded as a Christian country, and with 5% of the world’s population and currently 40% of the world’s sustenance, it has apparently worked out well. I can support the view of removing religious education from publicly funded schools, as it is apparently beyond the ability of current schools to teach spelling. Education however can be found, and is still sought by a great many people in many other places, such as the Bible for moral guides, The IEEE Handbook for signal analysis, 90CFR for Flying an Airplane, &c. We do have a few rough edges that have manifested since 1776, and some moral rectitude of our leadership may be of use in guiding us through. Bless your little ol’ heart, and may God guide your steps to another country you might like
Wow! Not sure, quite, why it’s taken me so long to stumble upon your site — since I’ve been a pretty active and vocal opponent of the travesties of this administration from the get-go — but what you’ve done and are continuing to do is great! Thank you so much!
John, you said it for me; I just found this website, although “The Federalist Papers” have been an important resource for years, usually around election times, when liberal comments on issues raise the hairs on the back of my neck. I shall promote the website.
Great to see people raising awareness of this critically important source. I decided a few months ago I needed to know these Papers better, and have been blogging about how I think they apply to modern America at Publius 225.
Not so sure why all the hullabaloo about religion. I suspect something do with unalienable Rights. No God, no unalienable. Not unalienable? Then granted by Man. If granted by Man, can be taken away by Man. Not good for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, eh? Not the big picture anyway. The big picture is that Nature trumps religion. It will kick both the athiest and the religious “you know what” if both don’t work together. MUCH better time would be spent judging your leaders actions, than judging one and other. The arguments for and against the constitution are not secret. The arguments for, won. To keep it as is, one must fight harder than those wishing to change it. Its as simple as that. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers must have equal weight as the three r’s in our public school systems. As far as I’m concerned they should be a pre-requisite to voting.
This site is wonderful… It is so nice to be able to read the original documents and be able to get the unvarnished intent of the writers.