Picture of Alexander Hamilton Picture of James Madison
Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay

The Federalist

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.

Contents

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