The Federalist (also known as the "Federalist Papers") is a collection of eighty-five essays on the U.S. Constitution written under the pseudonym Publius by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Hamilton conceived of the project as a means of countering antiFederalists, opponents of the Constitution who were busily writing their own essays warning of the dangerous powers given to the proposed national government. Madison and Hamilton eventually wrote all but five of the essays, which appeared serially in New York City newspapers between October 1787 and August 1788. They were also published in book form in 1788.
Although the procedure for ratification required only nine states to approve the proposed Constitution, New York's support was crucial both because of the centrality of the state and because of its importance as a center of trade. If New York had voted against ratification, the Constitution would likely not have gone into effect, even with the necessary nine votes elsewhere. Ironically, The Federalist had little impact on ratification in New York. Although New York City elected representatives to the special convention who favored ratification, rural New Yorkers were suspicious, and the final makeup of the state convention had a clear majority opposed to ratification. Hamilton and his supporters eventually wore down the opposition, though, and New York became the eleventh state to ratify the Constitution on 26 July 1788. Despite failing to influence many New York voters, The Federalist had a major impact beyond New York. The essays were reprinted throughout the states and served almost as a debater's handbook for the forces in favor of ratification at other state conventions.
The Federalist examined a number of major issues, such as the flaws in the Articles of Confederation (which governed the United States of America until the Constitution was ratified), the nature of federalism with its division of power between a national and state governments, and the powers of the various branches of government as well as why those powers were necessary. Although The Federalist does contain some innovative political philosophy (most famously, Madison's Federalist No. 10, with its novel argument that a republican government is safer in a large, not small, republic), it focuses mostly on practical considerations of how government should function. In this, the authors exhibit what would become a distinctly American, pragmatic attitude. Because nearly all agreed that America should have a republican government, the writers ignored many of the philosophical questions that had engaged Western political philosophy up to that time.
The Federalist also served an extremely important rhetorical function. The moment for such an ambitious series of political essays was brief. A few decades after 1787-1788, the essays would probably not have had a significant impact because of the explosion of newspapers. The essays themselves fostered a tone of civility in the debate and contributed to the larger discursive framework that the authors were attempting to establish. The well-wrought, carefully reasoned political essays became virtual enactments of the kind of deliberation the authors hoped the national government would foster.
The Federalist almost never mentioned specific anti-Federalist writers or essays, even though those attacks shaped the project. The invisibility of the anti-Federalists within the essays was part of Publius's rhetorical strategy to establish himself as a neutral commentator offering an unbiased overview, rather than as a partisan responding to specific charges. These tactics reinforced the overall thrust of The Federalist. Instead of trying to score every possible debating point, the authors attempted to shift the entire realm of the debate away from considerations of competing interests to considerations of the public good, as they defined it.
They also argued themselves into a more reasonable position. Both Hamilton and Madison had argued vigorously for an even more powerful national government during the Constitutional Convention. Now called upon to defend the Constitution to people suspicious even of the powers that were given, they offered a moderate view of what the national government would actually be empowered to do.
Hamilton and Madison had read widely in political philosophy and drew upon a large range of historical and political writings in articulating their understanding of the Constitution. Perhaps most important, David Hume, the Scottish enlightenment thinker, influenced both men on a number of important issues.
The Federalist continues to have a significant role in the American political tradition. Not only do political scientists still turn to it as the most authoritative guide to the U.S. Constitution, but legislators, presidents, and U.S. Supreme Court justices continue to study its pronouncements in their efforts to understand the Constitution.