The Federalist Papers - Tidbits of History

Return to The Introduction to the Federalist Papers.

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles written “to the People of New York” and published from October of 1787 through May of 1788. Their purpose was to examine every facet of the proposed Constitution and to answer every objection. Their goal was the ratification of the Constitution by the state of New York. The Constitution had been approved by the Congress and sent to the states for ratification on September 17, 1787.

All of the essays were signed “PUBLIUS” and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay wrote the remaining 5.

Each page of the 85 articles has a link at the bottom which will return you to this table of contents.

The subject matter of the Papers may be divided thusly:

Papers 01-14 The Importance of the Union
Papers 15-22 Defects of the Articles of Confederation
Papers 23-36 Arguments for the Type of Government Contained in the Constitution
Papers 37-51 The Republican Form of Government
Papers 52-66 The Legislative Branch
Papers 67-77 The Executive Branch
Papers 78-83 The Judicial Branch
Papers 84-85 Conclusions

Following is a table of contents for the Federalist Papers which includes the title, author, and the date published.

Federalist Papers

1	General Introduction	Hamilton	October 27, 1787
2	Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence	Jay	October 31, 1787
3	Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence	Jay	November 3, 1787
4	Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence	Jay	November 7, 1787
5	Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence	Jay	November 10, 1787
6	Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States	Hamilton	November 13, 1787
7	Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States	Hamilton	November 17, 1787
8	The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States	Hamilton	November 20, 1787
9	The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection	Hamilton	November 23, 1787
10	The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection	Madison	November 27, 1787
11	The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy	Hamilton	November 23, 1787
12	The Utility of the Union in Respect to Revenue	Hamilton	November 27, 1787
13	Advantage of the Union In Respect to Economy in Government	Hamilton	November 28, 1787
14	Objections to the Proposed Constitution from Extent of Territory Answered	Madison	November 30, 1787
15	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton	December 1, 1787
16	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton	December 4, 1787
17	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton	December 5, 1787
18	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton & Madison	December 7, 1787
19	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton & Madison	December 8, 1787
20	The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union	Hamilton & Madison	December 11, 1787
21	‎Other Defects of the Present Confederation	Hamilton	December 12, 1787
22	‎Other Defects of the Present Confederation	Hamilton	December 14, 1787
23	‎The Necessity of a Government as Energetic As the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union	Hamilton	December 18, 1787
24	‎The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered	Hamilton	December 19, 1787
25	‎The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered	Hamilton	December 21, 1787
26	‎The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense	Hamilton	December 22, 1787
27	‎The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered	Hamilton	December 25, 1787
28	‎The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered	Hamilton	December 26, 1787
29	‎Concerning the Militia	Hamilton	January 10, 1788
30	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	December 28, 1787
31	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 1, 1788
32	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 3, 1788
33	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 3, 1788
34	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 4, 1788
35	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 5, 1788
36	‎ Concerning the General Power of Taxation	Hamilton	January 8, 1788
37	‎ Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government	Madison	January 11, 1788
38	‎Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government	Madison	January 15, 1788
39	‎The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles	Madison	January 16, 1788
40	‎The Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained	Madison	January 18, 1788
41	General View of the Powers Conferred by the Constitution	Madison	January 19, 1788
42	The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered	Madison	January 22, 1788
43	The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered	Madison	January 23, 1788
44	Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States	Madison	January 25, 1788
45	The Alleged Danger from the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered	Madison	January 26, 1788
46	The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared	Madison	January 29, 1788
47	The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts	Madison	January 30, 1788
48	These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated As to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other	Madison	February 1, 1788
49	Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention	Hamilton or Madison	February 2, 1788
50	Periodic Appeals to the People Considered	Hamilton or Madison	February 5, 1788
51	The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments	Hamilton or Madison	February 8, 1788
52	The House of Representatives	Hamilton or Madison	February 8, 1788
53	The House of Representatives	Hamilton or Madison	February 12, 1788
54	Apportionment of Members Among The States	Hamilton or Madison	February 12, 1788
55	The Total Number of the House of Representatives	Hamilton or Madison	February 13, 1788
56	The Total Number of the House of Representatives	Hamilton or Madison	February 16, 1788
57	The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of Many Considered in Connection With Representation	Hamilton or Madison	February 19, 1788
58	Objection that the Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands Considered	Madison	February 20, 1788
59	Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members	Hamilton	February 22, 1788
60	Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members	Hamilton	February 23, 1788
61	Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members	Hamilton	February 26, 1788
62	The Senate	Hamilton or Madison	February 27, 1788
63	The Senate	Madison	March 1, 1788
64	The Powers of the Senate	Jay	March 5, 1788
65	The Powers of the Senate	Hamilton	March 7, 1788
66	Objections to the Power of the Senate to Sit as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered	Hamilton	March 8, 1788
67	The Executive Department	Hamilton	March 11, 1788
68	The Mode of Electing the President	Hamilton	March 12, 1788
69	The Real Character of the Executive	Hamilton	March 14, 1788
70	The Executive Department Further Considered	Hamilton	March 15, 1788
71	The Duration in Office of the Executive	Hamilton	March 18, 1788
72	The Duration in Office of the Executive and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered	Hamilton	March 19, 1788
73	The Provision for the Support of the Executive and the Veto Power	Hamilton	March 21, 1788
74	The Command of the Military and NavalForces and the Pardoning Power of the Executive	Hamilton	March 25, 1788
75	The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive	Hamilton	March 26, 1788
76	The Appointing Power of the Executive	Hamilton	April 1, 1788
77	The Appointing Power and Other Powers of the Executive Considered	Hamilton	April 4, 1788
78	The Judiciary Department	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
79	The Judiciary Department	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
80	The Powers of the Judiciary	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
81	The Judiciary and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
82	The Judiciary	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
83	The Judiciary in Relation to Trial by Jury	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
84	Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered	Hamilton	May 28, 1788
85	Concluding Remarks	Hamilton	May 28, 1788

Federalist Papers

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