Federalist Papers

Under the pen name PUBLIUS, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote a series of controversial essays advocating ratification of the U. S. Constitution. They were published in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788. Many consider The Federalist Papers to be the most important work in political science ever written in the United States.

There are 85 Federalist Papers. The first 36 criticize the government under the Articles of Confederation. The remaining 49 analyze the proposed new Constitution section by section.