The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics) by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, Clinton Rossiter Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Required Reading for all Americans
Summary: 5 Stars
This book really shed's some light into what the founders had in mind when the country was being developed. If half the Congress just read this book we would be better off as a nation.Book Review: Must reading for any American
Summary: 5 Stars
How many Americans actually understand the Constitution and how their government was meant to function? If you are relying on the public schools and the media to give you that education, you are going to have a very great misunderstanding of what the Constitution was meant to mean and an even greater misunderstanding of how far the government of the United States today has veered from the vision of the wise men who met in Philadelphia in 1787.
These are a collection of papers that were published in New York in 1788 for the purpose of convincing the people, and through them, their representatives, to ratify the Constitution (which New York did a year later.) The papers themselves are fairly well organized discussing the basic utility of Union before a discussion of each of the three main departments of government (legislative, executive, and judicial.)
This edition has dozens of notations regarding people, places, and historical events and assemblies that the educated populace of the 1780s would be aware of, but the average person in 2006 may not be so familiar with.
One thing that I did as I was reading the book was that I was trying to consider what the three men who wrote these papers would think about these notions if they around today. It is also clear upon reflecting while reading about subsequent history, that they were wrong on a number of issues, especially considering the relative strength of the judiciary, which has in reality become arguarably the strongest of the three branches of government, not the least as argued by Hamilton.
This book should be a required text in every United States government class (senior year in high school or 101 class in college) rather than the one or two excerpts that are common fair in those watered-down classes. This book is also must reading for anyone who cares about constitutional governance.
Book Review: Alexander Hamilton's Greatest Work (with help from James Madison).
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Federalist" is a compilation of articles that appeared in the New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788, written in support of the document that had been approved by the Constitutional Convention that had met in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. The authors, writing anonymously under the pseudonym "Publius" (after Publius Valerius Publicola, the quasi-legendary First Consul of the Roman Republic), were Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, all well-known political figures in the American Revolutionary period. The Constitution had actually been ratified by the time the articles began to appear, but they served to explain to the public the nature of their new government. They have served that function very well ever since. They are now considered to be a definitive statement of the practical issues involved in establishing popular consensual representative government.
Ironically, Hamilton was not nearly as enthusiastic about the new Constitution in private as he was in the pages of "The Federalist". For example, he believed the President should be elected for life, and for that reason throughout his life he was called a "monarchist" by his political enemies.
Another irony is that Hamilton persuaded the American people to accept a Constitution that was and continues to be much more conservative in outlook than are the majority of the American people. He succeeded at this because Americans, like Hamilton, sensed that a conservative governmental structure, with a strong executive, was essential to our security as a fledgling nation-state in a world dominated by hostile and predatory military monarchies. The desperately vulnerable state of the early American Republic comes through vividly in Hamilton's writing, informed no doubt by his heroic Revolutionary War service as George Washington's personal aide. The attachment of Americans to our Constitution as a source of our strength and security continues unabated today.
"Publius" was writing for the average citizen of his day, who either could read himself or was read to - newspapers were usually passed from hand to hand for weeks after publication in those days. But he doesn't write down to his audience. He justifiably assumes that having been through a prolonged and bloody war for their independence the average American citizen was extremely interested in preserving that hard-won liberty, and in the structure of the government that would help them do it.
However, the language is of the late 18th century, and takes some getting used to. These papers should be read one at a time, over a period of months or years. The topics covered are as timely as today's headlines: The limits of presidential power, the independence of the judiciary, the role of government in society.
My favorite quotation from "The Federalist" is not by Hamilton, but by Madison, although I'm sure Hamilton agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment: (from The Federalist No. 51) "But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
"The Federalist" is one of three basic texts of American government. The other two are Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" and Lord Bryce's "The American Commonwealth".
These three books together will provide an educated person with a solid understanding of the nature of the American system of government.
Book Review: Excellent material, difficult to read
Summary: 5 Stars
I rate this book 5 stars because the content is so vital to understanding what our founding fathers were thinking as they tried to convince the Americans in New York that a "Foederal" government, rather than individual states or territories, was the best way to bring the new union together.
OK, now readability. Does anyone else have trouble understanding the writing style of the late 17th century? I appreciate that the book is true to the original newspaper articles, but sometimes my eyes glaze over and I lose the gist of what the author was trying to say. For example: "The disciplined armies always kept on foot on the continent of Europe, though they bear a malignant aspect to liberty and oeconomy, have notwithstanding been productive of the signal advantage, of rendering sudden conquests impracticable, and of preventing that rapid desolation, which used to mark the progress of war, prior to their introduction." I think he's saying that a standing army will prevent foreign powers from easily invading your country. But I have to do this "translation" in my head as I read each sentence, so the reading really gets bogged down.
So, this work is not something that most people can just breeze through - it takes some thought and understanding of the culture and style of the time. If there is a modern-language translation available, I would buy that as a supplement, because the content definitely is worth learning!
Book Review: A must read
Summary: 5 Stars
This book outlines the Federalist principles behind the Constituition... Number 10 is my favorite. It gives great insight to the Federalist side of the debate during the early years. As it addresses to the people of New York, you hear the arguments of some of the earliest great American minds.