Federalist Essays

Since the proceedings were in secret, some in opposition felt free to create a misrepresentation of what actually occurred. Constitution would likely fail in a number of key states during the ratification process if there was not an effective defense of the document.

They were quite successful in turning large numbers of people against the proposed constitution. Hamilton decided to lead an effort to produce a set of essays that would clearly explain the purpose and benefits of the newly defined constitution that would replace the Articles of Confederation, which had been in effect for six years (since early 1781).

The Constitution was signed by 39 delegates from 12 states on September 17, 1787 in the Constitutional Convention, but required ratification by nine states to be officially enacted.

After the Constitutional Convention, there were numerous groups that were determined that the newly proposed constitution should not be successfully ratified by the states.

The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution.

Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 17 under the pen name "Publius." The Federalist Papers are considered one of the most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution.

Hamilton did not have the funds to pre-pay for the printing but was able to convince the printer that the demand would more that cover the costs of printing.

The final essay was printed ten months later on August 16, 1788.

He obtained two other authors to assist in writing sections from the outline - James Madison of Virginia and John Jay of New York.

The 85 Federalist essays were written anonymously written under the pseudonym of "Publius".