The Federalist Papers and the Birth of a Nation

Historians have often debated the true definition of American Revolution, whether the Revolution was a conservative movement led to maintain the power of those at the top of the hierarchy or a radical movement that set a process of transformation of society and brought a new type of democracy to the colonies. Professors Wood and Nash clarify the true purpose of the movement and its outcome in their writing’s. Professor Wood explains to readers that the American Revolution was a radical movement that transformed society and state in the colonies, while Nash sees the revolution as a conservative movement of alarmed white male leaders whom sought to contain the revolution. The American Revolution was a radical movement that brought a transformation

“You make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other. Besides other impediments, it may be remarked that, where there is a consciousness of unjust or dishonorable purposes, communication is always checked by distrust in proportion to the number whose concurrence is necessary.”

The early years of the Constitution of the United States were full of political strife. The two prominent political ideals were complete opposites. The Jeffersonian Republicans were focused on giving power to the people and maintaining a pastoral economy, while the Federalists supported the control of the government by the elite class, and maintaining “positive” democracy. Both parties feared the influence and effect the other party would have on the public. In Linda K. Kerber's article, “The Fears of the Federalists”, the major concerns Federalists held in the early 19th century are described. Ever since the war with and separation from England, the citizens of America were seen to be continually drive to “patriotic rebellion” as a way to

In the year 1787 a fierce debate over the ratification of the Constitution took place in the United States. The young nation suffered from a government too weak to handle its problems but with citizens wary and skeptical of strong, central governments. This is where the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists took place, the debate that would set American ideals into stone with the ratification of the Constitution and the later-added Bill of Rights. The Federalists believed in a stronger central government to help overcome the struggles the fledgling nation faced while the Anti-federalists believed that the Constitution did not do enough to secure the rights of the people from a tyranny not unlike that of King George’s. Throughout this

4. The Antifederalist believed that there should be no ratification of the Constitution. They were completely opposed to having a stronger national government if it meant that it was under the Constitution.

After the American Revolution the newly formed “government” was far from organized. Yes, the people achieved independence from a unruly and unjust mother country, but at what cost? Not only did this young nation have very little sense of a true structured government, but it was broke with most people were unaware of the situation on in their own country. The first written piece of real structured government was the Articles of Confederation. Although this document was criticized for it failing in the end, it was actually a very important step in the right direction towards a fully function government. Another problem raised during this time was the separation between federalist and anti-federalist. The federalists favored of a strong central government while the opposing anti-federalists sought to split the power among the states more evenly. Additionally the federalists privileged some of the more conventional British policies that were in place before the war. The anti-federalists were in favor of power “for the people”. If I were alive during this time I would be in preference of the constitution and most likely would have associated myself with the federalists.

When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they created a new system which has lasted and still works today. This system is known as the checks and balances system. For years, this country has used this system to survive. It relies on each branch of government to do evaluations on the other branches. The power of the judicial branch has come into question over the course of history. One example of this was during the case of Marbury vs Madison, where the supreme court decided that their power is to assess whether laws are constitutional.

The authors of The Federalist Papers are Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The book is edited by Clinton Rossiter, and has introduction and notes by Charles R. Kesler.

This paper is about how The United States moved from it’s inept first attempt at self government progressing, to the Constitution, which took care of many issues prevalent in the Articles of Confederation. The revolutionary concepts exemplified in the constitution propelled The United States onto the world stage. To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, two essays and a book will be consulted concerning what people thought about the Constitution when it was first implemented and how it is perceived today. In addition, a brief history of early American government and how the Constitution came to be will be discussed. Furthermore the resulting Constitution and how it improved upon the Articles of Confederation will be discussed.

As an original Federalist from the pre-Constitutional era, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to witness the way that our ideas have achieved our hopes or failed to do so. It has also been depressing to see that some of what has been transpiring in your most recent history reflects human behavior that we had assumed was beneath legislators. When we debated the most appropriate safeguards against the tyranny of the majority, for example, we focused on preventing future recurrence of some of the same tendencies of powerful majorities. We understood that a democratic republic is safer in that regard than a simple democracy; and we understood the need to protect at least one chamber of Congress from perpetual majority domination. At the time, we thought that the only concern was that we needed mechanisms like filibuster and cloture to provide some protection against the obvious potential consequences of a nation dominated by the rule of the majority.

The “Federalist Papers” were created as part of the political campaign of the North to further push the federalist views of a strong central government, in which Hamilton, Madison, and Jay strongly argued their case. In Federalist paper 10, Madison strongly talks about the representative government that the new system has; iterating that with representative government, this shows the diverse perspectives throughout the country. He also argues that there will be less oppression with chosen politicians so like-mindedness of opinions does not occur. Additionally, Madison writes in, similar fashion, Federalist paper #39 how the way to avoid an oppressive, tyrant leader is to have the president be voted by all of the citizens so not one social class

On July 4th, 1776 the American Colonists ' ratified The Declaration of Independence. This Declaration severed their final ties to England and idealized the formation of an equal society, independent of a corrupted centralized government like that of Britain. In order to accomplish this perfect nation, the Americans followed the Declaration with the creation of The Articles of Confederation. The Confederation 's purpose was to guide the young republic to a decentralized government that upheld the Republican theory that the common people were in a constant pursuit for the general welfare of all. Nonetheless, with both documents placing the principles of equality and fear of authoritarian power at the center of the nation 's identity, distinct social inequalities and issues of greed unveiled themselves. Due to such tyranny, at the end of the eighteenth century America reformed her republic with the institution of a federal constitution. Yet, the emergence of Hamilton’s Financial Program and the Sedition Act from this reform led the society to segregation and wrought with the unequal distribution of power. Therefore, as the United States of America progressed it did not remain true to its revolutionary ideals of equality and government by the common people to foster a society based on civic virtue.

Following the Revolutionary War, the Federalists and the Jeffersonians would dictate the country’s future through their decisions. After gaining independence from Britain, the United States would need a clear path to endure the future hardships and struggles, and the founding fathers would need to decide where to lead it. The Jeffersonians, the staunch defenders of the everyman and of states’s rights, would battle the Federalists, those who saw the need for a strong national government to stabilize the economy and unify the existing states.

In the late 1700’s, the political party known as The Federalists doubted the United States would become a great commercial power. The Federalist dominated the new government. According to the book, “Although no one welcomed them, the political parties gradually took shape” (Brands, H.W., Breen, T.H., Williams, B.H., and Gross, A.J. 170). The federalist encouraged a very rapid integration of the United States into a world economy, but however avid they were about capitalism, the Federalist nor the Republicans did not trust the people or local government to do the job adequately. They insisted on a modern economy, which would require a strong national society. In 1887, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote The Federalist. The name implied that the new government wouldn’t be a drastically different from the old government. It would still be a federal government, one in which the states would share power with the central government. These claims frightened persons who came to identify themselves as Jeffersonian’s, Republicans, or the anti-federalist.

On July 4, 1776, America was only conceived. On September 3, 1738, America was born as the world’s freest nation. The American Revolution defined how powerful a country and its people can be with unity and a common purpose. Throughout history, men like Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, looked back upon the Revolution to capture the significance of the United States and its values. Freedom, constitutionalism and equality were the building block characteristics that the patriots were driven by. Brown University professor, Dr. Gordon S. Wood’s “The American Revolution”, shows exactly how important and groundbreaking the Revolution was. He captures the essence of the colonist attitude and discontent with the corrupt tyranny in England, explains