The Federalist: The Essential Essays, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

by Jack N. Rakove (Editor)

Considered the United States’ greatest contribution to the “canon” of western political theory, The Federalist is a series of 85 essays first published between the early fall of 1787 and the spring of 1788 supporting the ratification of the Constitution. In a new edition of this work, Jack Rakove presents the most critical and frequently assigned Federalist essays with an introduction to current scholarly thinking about the Constitution and the role these essays played in its adoption. Headnotes for each essay help identify the specific arguments being made in response to Anti-Federalist concerns, making the collection’s import more readily apparent to students. Related writings by Hamilton and Madison help set the Federalist in historical context.

Genres: History, Classics, American History, Philosophy

250 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2003

About the author

Jack Rakove is the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor of political science and (by courtesy) law at Stanford, where he has taught since 1980. His principal areas of research include the origins of the American Revolution and Constitution, the political practice and theory of James Madison, and the role of historical knowledge in constitutional litigation. He is the author of six books, including Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (1996), which won the Pulitzer Prize in History, and Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America (2010), which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize, and the editor of seven others, including The Unfinished Election of 2000 (2001). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and a past president of the Society for the History of the Early American Republic.

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I have no issues getting through historical documents, but this was a nightmare. My Political Science professor even described reading it as "waterboarding". This is only getting a two star because of its historical significance and I'm glad it doesn't feel like Hamilton is yelling at me anymore.

[Kenneth Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a bit of an editorial review.
I joked during an earlier (but recent) era that I had never seen so many friends and citizens at-large concerned about political questions perusing the Federalist Papers, authored by our current and always hero Alexander Hamilton, along with James Madison and John Jay in the 1780s. Was it envisioned that the president would have powers which would supersede other elements of the government? When we say "checks and balances," how many checks and balances do we have in mind? How far do they go? The Papers go a long way in elucidating what the founding fathers (and mothers) had in mind.
Today we're in another period where these documents--actually 1787-1788 letters to New York newspapers urging the adoption of the constitution--have more relevance that ever before.
I use the edition edited by Benjamin F. Wright (1961, on my shelf, a Barnes & Noble reprint), but if anyone has other favorites, I'm all ears. "Justice is the end of government" in "Checks and Balances" (51) by Madison; "On Impeachment" (66) by Hamilton (see especially pp. 435, 436 in this edition) have special relevance to some of our current public debates. Corruption was much on the minds of these authors.
While not exactly beach reading (but perhaps it could be?), I hope readers will keep this tome close at hand.
Enjoy.