Background forThe Federalist Papers

TIMELINE:1513 – Machiavelli writes The Prince (Italy)1726 – Swift writes Gulliver’s Travels (England)1773 – The Boston Tea Party1775 – Lexington and Concord (1st battle of the Revolution)1776 – Declaration of Independence1781 – British surrender1783 – Treaty of Paris signed by United States and Great

Britain1787-88 – Federalist Papers, a series of essays, published in

the young United States1787 – US Constitution signed1788 – US Constitution adopted

Condensed from http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/

The Federalist Papers

• written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.

• In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. 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 contributed the remaining five.

Condensed from http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/

FEDERALIST No. 10 was written by James Madison as a companion to Federalist No.9 by Alexander Hamilton. Thus, its topic is:

• The Same Subject Continued(The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection) From the New York Packet.Friday, November 23, 1787.

To Think About…

• Why would the authors have signed their essays “Publius”?

• Who was the intended audience – of Swift?– of Machiavelli?– of “Publius”?

• After reading, reflect on how the purpose of each author relates to his intended audience