Alexander Hamilton | James Madison | John Jay |
The text of this version is primarily taken from the first collected 1788 "McLean edition", but spelling and punctuation have been modernized, and some glaring errors -- mainly printer's lapses -- have been corrected. The main heads have also been taken from that edition and a few later ones, except where the head was something like "The Same Subject Continued" we have repeated the previous heading and appended "(continued)", so that each document can better stand alone. We have been guided by the excellent edition by Jacob E. Cooke, Wesleyan University Press, 1961. The footnotes are those of the authors, except where the original edition used a variety of special typographical symbols for superscripts, we use numerals. Editors's footnotes are indicated by being preceded by the letter "E". The original typography used for emphasis, such as all caps or italics, has been used here. We have tried to identify the date of earliest appearance in a newspaper. The newspapers were theIndependent Journal [J], the New-York Packet [P], and the Daily Advertiser [A], all based in New York, shown preceding the date. Nos. 78-85 actually first appeared May 28, 1788, in a bound volume published by J. and A. McLean, Federalist II. We have followed the consensus of scholars on attribution of each paper to its primary author, James Madison [M], John Jay [J], or Alexander Hamilton [H], which is shown following the date. Please email comments or corrections to jon.roland@the-spa.com.
1 | J | 1787 | Oct | 27 | H | General Introduction |
2 | J | 1787 | Oct | 31 | J | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence |
3 | J | 1787 | Nov | 3 | J | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
4 | J | 1787 | Nov | 7 | J | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
5 | J | 1787 | Nov | 10 | J | Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence (continued) |
6 | J | 1787 | Nov | 14 | H | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States |
7 | J | 1787 | Nov | 15 | H | Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States (continued) and Particular Causes Enumerated |
8 | P | 1787 | Nov | 20 | H | Consequences of Hostilities Between the States |
9 | J | 1787 | Nov | 21 | H | The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection |
10 | A | 1787 | Nov | 22 | M | The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued) |
11 | J | 1787 | Nov | 24 | H | The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy |
12 | P | 1787 | Nov | 27 | H | The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue |
13 | J | 1787 | Nov | 28 | H | Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government |
14 | P | 1787 | Nov | 30 | M | Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered |
15 | J | 1787 | Dec | 1 | H | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union |
16 | P | 1787 | Dec | 4 | H | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
17 | J | 1787 | Dec | 5 | H | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
18 | P | 1787 | Dec | 7 | M | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
19 | J | 1787 | Dec | 8 | M | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
20 | P | 1787 | Dec | 11 | M | Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union (continued) |
21 | J | 1787 | Dec | 12 | H | Other Defects of the Present Confederation |
22 | P | 1787 | Dec | 14 | H | Other Defects of the Present Confederation (continued) |
23 | P | 1787 | Dec | 18 | H | Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union |
24 | J | 1787 | Dec | 19 | H | Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered |
25 | P | 1787 | Dec | 21 | H | Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered (continued) |
26 | J | 1787 | Dec | 22 | H | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered |
27 | P | 1787 | Dec | 25 | H | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) |
28 | J | 1787 | Dec | 26 | H | Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered (continued) |
29 | J | 1788 | Jan | 9 | H | Concerning the Militia |
30 | P | 1787 | Dec | 28 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation |
31 | P | 1788 | Jan | 1 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
32 | J | 1788 | Jan | 2 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
33 | J | 1788 | Jan | 2 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
34 | J | 1788 | Jan | 5 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
35 | J | 1788 | Jan | 5 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
36 | P | 1788 | Jan | 8 | H | Concerning the General Power of Taxation (continued) |
37 | A | 1788 | Jan | 11 | M | Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government |
38 | J | 1788 | Jan | 12 | M | The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed |
39 | J | 1788 | Jan | 16 | M | Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles |
40 | P | 1788 | Jan | 18 | M | On the Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained |
41 | J | 1788 | Jan | 19 | M | General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution |
42 | P | 1788 | Jan | 22 | M | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered |
43 | J | 1788 | Jan | 23 | M | The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered (continued) |
44 | P | 1788 | Jan | 25 | M | Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States |
45 | J | 1788 | Jan | 26 | M | Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered |
46 | P | 1788 | Jan | 29 | M | The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared |
47 | J | 1788 | Jan | 30 | M | The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts |
48 | P | 1788 | Feb | 1 | M | These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other |
49 | J | 1788 | Feb | 2 | M | Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention |
50 | P | 1788 | Feb | 5 | M | Periodical Appeals to the People Considered |
51 | J | 1788 | Feb | 6 | M | The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments |
52 | P | 1788 | Feb | 8 | M | The House of Representatives |
53 | J | 1788 | Feb | 9 | M | The House of Representatives (continued) |
54 | P | 1788 | Feb | 12 | M | Apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives Among the States |
55 | J | 1788 | Feb | 13 | M | The Total Number of the House of Representatives |
56 | J | 1788 | Feb | 16 | M | The Total Number of the House of Representatives (continued) |
57 | P | 1788 | Feb | 19 | M | The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation |
58 | J | 1788 | Feb | 20 | M | Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered |
59 | P | 1788 | Feb | 22 | H | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members |
60 | J | 1788 | Feb | 23 | H | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) |
61 | P | 1788 | Feb | 26 | H | Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members (continued) |
62 | J | 1788 | Feb | 27 | M | The Senate |
63 | J | 1788 | Mar | 1 | M | The Senate (continued) |
64 | J | 1788 | Mar | 5 | J | The Powers of the Senate |
65 | P | 1788 | Mar | 7 | H | The Powers of the Senate (continued) |
66 | J | 1788 | Mar | 8 | H | Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered |
67 | P | 1788 | Mar | 11 | H | The Executive Department |
68 | J | 1788 | Mar | 12 | H | The Mode of Electing the President |
69 | P | 1788 | Mar | 14 | H | The Real Character of the Executive |
70 | J | 1788 | Mar | 15 | H | The Executive Department Further Considered |
71 | P | 1788 | Mar | 18 | H | The Duration in Office of the Executive |
72 | J | 1788 | Mar | 19 | H | The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered |
73 | P | 1788 | Mar | 21 | H | The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power |
74 | P | 1788 | Mar | 25 | H | The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive |
75 | J | 1788 | Mar | 26 | H | The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive |
76 | P | 1788 | Apr | 1 | H | The Appointing Power of the Executive |
77 | J | 1788 | Apr | 2 | H | The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered |
78 | J | 1788 | Jun | 14 | H | The Judiciary Department |
79 | J | 1788 | Jun | 18 | H | The Judiciary Continued |
80 | J | 1788 | Jun | 21 | H | The Powers of the Judiciary |
81 | J | 1788 | Jun | 25 28 |
H | The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority |
82 | J | 1788 | Jul | 2 | H | The Judiciary Continued |
83 | J | 1788 | Jul | 5 9 12 |
H | The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury |
84 | J | 1788 | Jul Aug |
16 26 9 |
H | Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered |
85 | J | 1788 | Aug | 13 16 |
H | Concluding Remarks |