History of USA Federalist Papers (1787-1789) Brief Overview Timeline People Events & Qs
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Brief Overview
This document (the Federalist) will provide all the reasons to support the new plan of government described in the U.S. Constitution, and responses to each of the criticisms of the plan.
Opponents to the new plan criticize it most on it creating a strong central government that will be abusive to individual liberty. However, an energetic government is crucial to the protection of individual liberty. The plan of government under the Articles of Confederation was unable to effectively protect individual liberties because it did not act directly upon the people, and had no authority to enforce its laws.
One of the biggest problems resulting from the Articles of Confederation was that there was no means to enforce unity amongst the states. This led to competition between the states over land, commerce, and repayment of public debt. Over time, this would naturally lead to further competition, and an inability to provide for the common defense. Additionally, individual states would seek to increase their own military strength to defend themselves against foreign invasions and invasions by their neighbors, leading to more wars, and to the suppression of civil liberties by military despotism.
The confederate republic form of government is ideal for the United States because it extends the advantages of popular government, in the form of the central government, without reducing the compactness, in the form of the state governments that retain much of their sovereignty. Factions are less likely in this form of government because the base of representation is spread over a much larger population.
The proposed plan of government will also improve commerce and the wealth of the nation because European nations will be compelled to follow uniform trade regulations enforced by a single navy. They will become inclined to negotiate for more mutually beneficial trade. The wealth of the nation will improve and the government's revenue will increase, thereby reducing the likelihood for property taxes.
The most important function of the government is to provide for the common defense, and the central government should be given as much power as necessary to match the responsibility of providing for the common defense. The confederacy failed to effectively provide for the common defense because the responsibility fell upon the central government, while the power rested with the states.
The central government must be able to maintain standing armies, provide for a national militia, and be able to levy direct taxes to support its common defense and provide for national prosperity. Fears about the central government becoming too powerful and abusing its military authority or right to tax should be soothed by understanding the role of legislature, or the representatives of the people, in determining the central government's authority to raise an army and levy taxes. Allowing both the federal and state government to levy taxes will ensure that they both have enough funds to effectively plan to meet their different needs
Critics claim that the Constitutional Convention was not authorized to remove the Articles of Confederation. In fact, resolutions of both the Annapolis Convention and the Confederation Congress allowed for any changes consistent with the needs of the nation. It contains many of the same powers, only strengthened, and differs only in the number of states required to ratify the changes, requiring only 9 instead of the formerly required 13.
Furthermore, the Constitution requires that the people, not the states, are needed to ratify the document and decide whether they will take the advice of the framers or not. The framers did the best within their abilities to provide a plan that would best ensure the happiness of the American people. Even if the convention was unauthorized, that does not mean that the states should not take the good advice of the delegates to the convention.
Each of the powers delegated to congress under the U.S. Constitution originate with the people themselves, are checked by the authority of other branches of government, or can be checked by the state governments. The powers delegated to the central government will best maintain the individual liberty of the citizens by providing for unified and enforced regulations and guidelines.
Plus, the state governments retain a large portion of their sovereignty under the new form of government, which is dependent on the state governments for its elections and its membership in the Senate. The state governments will always collectively overpower the central government due to the sheer number of state officials, and to the close connection of the people to their local governments.
The state and federal governments are not competing for power, but designed to effectively work together in protecting the common good. The state governments are responsible for internal affairs, and the federal for external affairs. They have the mutual authority to check the power of the other, through the power of the people. This will especially protect the state governments from usurpations of power by the federal government.
The division of the federal government into three distinct branches, each with the authority to effectively check the power of the others will also ensure the best protection of individual liberty. Although critics claim that a mixing of powers will potentially lead to all the powers amassed in one branch, the subdivision of authority on two levels, state and federal, provides a double protection for the rights of the people.
The unique characteristics of the American people make it perfect for self- government. The form of an extended republican government described by the U.S. Constitution will offer the best protection for the individual rights of citizens while having the power to work towards the common good.
Timeline
July 4, 1776: U.S. declares independence from Great Britain Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is published to the world, marking the official start of the American Revolution.
November 15, 1777: Congress completes the Articles of Confederation The final version of the Articles of Confederation is adopted by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification.
March 1, 1781: Establishment of the U.S. Government Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation, formally establishing a confederacy as the first government of the United States.
September 3, 1783: Signing of Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris officially ends the American Revolution and establishes the terms of peace between the United States and Great Britain.
March 25, 1785: Meeting of Mount Vernon Conference Representatives of Maryland and Virginia meet at George Washington's plantation to resolve conflicts over the navigation of the Potomac and Pocomoke Rivers.
September 11, 1786: Meeting of the Annapolis Convention New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, meet to discuss uniform trade regulations, but agree to appeal to all states to meet again to discuss broader reforms.
January 25, 1787: Shays' Rebellion Daniel Shays and other armed farmers from western Massachusetts attempt to conquer an arsenal of weapons in Springfield, MA in response to taxes levied by the Massachusetts Legislature.
May 25, 1787: First meeting of the Constitutional Convention Delegates from all states except Rhode Island meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. They end up drafting a new document, the U.S. Constitution, instead
September 17, 1787: Delegates sign U.S. Constitution All delegates to the Constitutional Convention, except 3, sign the U.S. Constitution.
September 19, 1787: First publication of the U.S. Constitution The Pennsylvania Packet prints the first public copy of the Constitution.
September 28, 1787: Congress formally submits Constitution to the states Congress sends a copy of the U.S. Constitution to the state legislatures with instructions about ratification.
October 27, 1787: First Federalist propaganda published in New York City Federalist No. 1 published anonymously under the name Publius in The Independent Journal.
January 1, 1788: J. & A. McLean announce plans to publish The Federalist. McLean publishers announce plans to compile a published volume of the first thirty-six Federalist essays.
March 2, 1788: The Federalist, A Collection of Essays is published The first 36 Federalist essays are published in a single volume with its preface written and corrections made by the author, later revealed to be Alexander Hamilton.
April 2, 1788: Federalist No. 77 published in The Independent Journal. Federalist Essay No. 77 is the final essay to be published in the New York serial newspapers. The remaining essays are published in a second compilation volume.
May 28, 1788: The Federalist, Volume Second is published Federalist essays numbered 37 to 77 are published, with an additional 8 new essays that had not yet been printed in a New York newspaper.
June 14, 1788: The final eight Federalist essays appear in the newspapers Between June and August, the final eight essays, originally published as part of the McLean Volume Second, are printed in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet.
July 2, 1788: official ratification of the U.S. Constitution With New Hampshire's ratification, the U.S. Constitution becomes formally accepted and a committee is appointed to plan the transition to the new government.
July 26, 1788: New York is the eleventh state to ratify New York ratifies the U.S. Constitution by a vote of 30-27 with recommended amendments.
March 4, 1789: Effective Date of the U.S. Constitution The new U.S. Government under the U.S. Constitution formally goes into effect.
March 1, 1792: Ratification of Bill of Rights Thomas Jefferson announces the ratification of the Bill of Rights, and they go into effect.
January 13, 1802: George Hopkins announces his publication of a second edition of The Federalist George Hopkins not only announces his forthcoming publication of the Federalist, but also reveals Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay as the anonymous authors of the essays.
December 8, 1802: The Hopkins edition of The Federalist is published The Hopkins edition is published and thought to contain the final revisions approved by Hamilton.
August 1818: Jacob Gideon published the third edition of The Federalist Jacob Gideon published a version of The Federalist, undertaken with approval by James Madison and including the first publication of Madison's corrections and his listing of authors.
July 1804: Death of Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton dies as a result of a duel with Aaron Burr.
March 4, 1809: James Madison sworn in as President James Madison, now a solid member of the Jeffersonian Republicans, is sworn in as the fourth President of the United States.
Key People
Alexander Hamilton
Beginning his political career through a close military association with George Washington in the Continental Army, Hamilton soon distinguished himself as a strong proponent of federalism. He represented New York at the Annapolis Convention, and participated as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention at which he proposed a tremendously strong centralized government with a president who served for life. When the U.S. Constitution was delivered to the states for ratification, Hamilton played an integral role to pass the document in New York State through his joint authorship of a series of persuasive essays called the Federalist Papers. He served as Secretary of the Treasury during Washington's presidency and distinguished himself through his strong financial policy and leadership. He died as a result of a duel fought with Aaron Burr in 1804, thus depriving the Federalist Party of its strongest leader.
John Jay
John Jay was the most moderate of the three authors of The Federalist, having resisted independence from England until the Declaration of Independence. After the formal dedication of war, Jay was a devoted statesman and foreign ambassador, serving in New York State as Chief Justice, as delegate to the Confederation Congress, as one of the negotiators for the Treaty of Paris, and as ambassador to Spain. Although Jay was struck with a bout of rheumatism that prevented him from writing a significant portion of the federalist essays, he worked closely with Alexander Hamilton throughout the ratification process in New York to spread the federalist ideas. He later served as Chief Justice of the United States.
James Madison
James Madison was a delegate from Virginia to both the Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention who strongly clamored for a vigorous and powerful central government. Prior to attending the Constitutional Convention, Madison prepared two papers on government, A Study of Ancient and Modern Confederacies and Vices of the Political System of the United States, from which he drew most of the ideas for the plan of government that was proposed on May 29th, 1787. Because of his central role in creating the U.S. Constitution, and because of the diligence with which he maintained records during the Convention, he is known as "the father of the Constitution." He faced off against Patrick Henry in the Virginia debate over ratification, and contributed his nationalist arguments, along with Hamilton and Jay, to the series of federalist propaganda compiled in The Federalist. Later in his political career, he moved away from the federalist political party and became a strong supporter of the Jeffersonian Republicans. Madison followed Jefferson as the fourth president of the United States.
Publius
The name used by all three authors of The Federalist to conceal their true identity. Publius referred to the legendary Publius Valerius Puplicolo, the founder of republican government in ancient Rome.
Terms
Anti-Federalists
As opposed to Federalists, people that feared a strong central government, supported states' rights, and opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Anti-federalists insisted that a Bill of Rights must be included in the Constitution to protect individual's rights against a powerful central government. Anti-federalists typically were members of the poorer classes, but also included patriots Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, and Richard Henry Lee. Anti-federalists strongly opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in Virginia and New York.
Articles of Confederation
The document that served as the first official constitution of the United States from 1781 through 1789. The Articles of Confederation dictated a loose organization of 13 independent states, joined together with equal representation in a Congress, in order to provide for the common defense. The Articles proved too weak to effectively govern the young nation, however, and delegates meeting at the Annapolis Convention in 1786 recommended that a new convention be called to discuss revision of the Articles.
Confederacy
A confederacy is a form of government in which independent states are loosely joined, typically for common defense. Each independent state maintains power over the majority of its own affairs.
Federalists
As opposed to anti-Federalists, people that favored a strong central government, feared too much power in the hands of the masses, and strongly supported the U.S. Constitution. Federalists were typically members of the cultured and propertied classes, and included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist perspective was codified in the form of 85 essays that appeared in New York newspapers between 1787 and 1788, and later published as The Federalist.
Ratification
To approve or accept an official or legal document. Article VII of the U.S. Constitution states that 9 states must ratify the document before it became the official law of the land.
U.S. Constitution
The official document that is the basis of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Constitution was officially put into effect on March 4, 1789 and has been in effect, with some amendments, ever since.
Events
Annapolis Convention
Held in September 1786 at the request of Virginia, this meeting of the states aimed to improve the uniformity of commerce. Only 12 delegates participated, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Sensing a statewide agreement on the importance of revising the Articles of Confederation, this convention resolved to call another statewide convention in May of 1787. This convention would become known as the Constitutional Convention.
Constitutional Convention
Scheduled to begin on May 14, 1787 in Philadelphia PA, the Constitutional Convention progressed through the summer to establish a new form of government as described by the U.S. Constitution. Although the convention was called for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, delegates from 12 of the 13 states (Rhode Island was absent) expressed an overwhelming interest in a totally new, and stronger, form of central government. Upon ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, this agreed upon form of government was put into effect and has operated as the government of the United States ever since.
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Article VII of the U.S. Constitution indicates that the document would officially go into effect upon the ratification of 9 of the 13 state ratifying conventions. When New Hampshire, the 9th state to do so, formally ratified the Constitution, the Constitutional Convention appointed a committee to begin planning the transition to the new government. Planning for the new government was underway even before Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island had formally approved of the government plan.
Shays' Rebellion
Daniel Shays organized farmers throughout New England to protest legislation that increased taxes and demanded immediate debt-repayment. When the state legislature refused to respond, Shays and his armed followers closed the courts in Western Massachusetts in protest of foreclosed properties. The rebellion came to a head when Shays was defeated while trying to seize a federal arsenal of weapons in Springfield, MA on January 25, 1787. This rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and convinced many states of the need for a stronger central government.
Study Questions
What impact did The Federalist have on the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?
Although The Federalist was originally published in New York newspapers with the specific intent of persuading New York's large Anti-federalist population to vote in favor of the Constitution, its ideas were widely used by federalists in other states as well. James Madison, in particular, was able to use the document to persuade the strong Anti-federalist coalition in Virginia to ratify the constitution. Both states eventually ratified, but neither did so as the first 9 states, so the Constitution would have gone into effect without them. However, the compilation and the publication of the individual essays into 2 volumes provided the United States with its own unique political philosophy. Given that the Constitution was officially ratified by 9 of the 13 states, without the input of either New York or Virginia, it is likely that it would have been ratified with or without The Federalist. However, the series of essays provided a thorough and rational justification for the importance of the new U.S. government and is respected as the most important statement of American political philosophy.
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that justified a stronger central government as described by the U.S. Constitution?
The Articles of Confederation did not provide effective means for the central government to carry out its assigned duties and was not officially sanctioned by the people. The central government, under the Articles, was endowed with many of the same responsibilities as the government under the Constitution, but because it lacked authority to collect taxes and to compel the states, it could not carry out its responsibilities. For example, in attempting to provide for the common defense, the central government did not have enough means to provide that defense through the power of taxation and the raising of an army. Both were accomplished through quotas and requisitions from the states, which were infrequently met. The central government could not provide uniform trade regulations, enforce foreign treaties, or protect the states from invasion or rebellion because it had no authority to compel the individual states to follow its rulings. Additionally, because the central government, under the Articles, was formed as a compact between individual states, the government did not take its authority directly from the people and therefore could not act directly upon the people. This allowed state governments to interfere with effective and uniform governance and led many to believe that the system of government under the Articles was not even a legitimate one.
In what way does an energetic government best protect the individual rights of citizens?
The political philosophers of the Enlightenment explain that when human beings form governments they sacrifice a degree of their own personal liberty in order to gain protection from the selfish needs of other individuals. A government provides a means to temper the competition between each individual's self- centered needs and creates an orderly system in which both the safety of the individual and the society are established. A more energetic government, up to a point, has the best chance of securing those individual rights. In the example of the U.S. Constitution, a stronger and more energetic centralized government has more control over a unified national defense, which will not only provide a stronger protection of individual's property rights but be more likely to provide an effective defense against foreign invasions and internal revolts. Shays' Rebellion demonstrated to many people that the government was not strong enough to prevent a rebellion which threatened to not only destroy public property, but to place the government of Massachusetts in the hands of a group of rebels that had gained their power through violence rather than from the authority of the people. The government created by the U.S. Constitution, which was committed to power in the hands of the people, channeled the strength of a unified 13 states behind the protection of each individual citizen.
