The Federalist Papers

We highly recommend the book 'How to Read the Federalist Papers.' Click the image to buy the book from the Heritage Foundation's store on Amazon.

In order to be knowledgeable about our nation’s founding, The Bryan/College Station Tea Party has begun a study of the Federalist Papers.

The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 articles written by:

• Alexander Hamilton – 51 articles
•  James Madison – 26 articles
•  John Jay – 5 articles
• Hamilton and Madison collaborated on articles 18 -20.

The purpose of the Federalist was to explain The Constitution and argue for its ratification. Originally published in a New York paper, the articles quickly spread across the new nation as they were reprinted in local newspapers and pamphlets.

The Federalists explains the principles that unified the people and also how the Constitution will first secure those principles and then protect them in perpetuity through the creation of the institution of government and the practical rules of operating that government.

The tab – First Principles – is a pull down menu of each of the articles we have studied or you can click each article to read our notes.

• Federalist 1 – Introduction – Hamilton
• Federalist 2 – Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force or Influence – Jay
• Federalist 3 – The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force or Influence) – Jay
• Federalist 4 - The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force or Influence) – Jay
• Federalist 10 – The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection - Madison
• Federalist 12 – The Utility of the Union in Respect to Revenue – Hamilton
• Federalist 39 – Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles – Madison
• Federalist 47 -The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts – Madison
• Federalist 48 – These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other – Madison
• Federalist 49 – Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention - Madison
• Federalist 51 -  The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments – Madison
• Federalist 55  - Apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives Among the States

We’ll update this list as we continue the series. Please join us!