The Federalist Papers

Alexander Hamilton says plainly that his goal in writing these essays is to convince voters—specifically those in his home state of New York—to ratify the US Constitution. The authors will argue that a union between the states will be useful to voters’ “political prosperity” (4) and that the current confederation of states is insufficient for ensuring that prosperity. Moreover, the following essays will describe how the proposed Constitution conforms to “the true principles of republican government” (4).

John Jay argues for the necessity of a union “under one Federal government,” as opposed to a loose confederation of separate states. On the matter of whether having a strong federal government would risk the loss of individual rights, Jay writes, “[W]henever and however [government] is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers” (5).

Jay elaborates on the argument made in the previous essay by stating that the safety of a nation’s people is its most pressing concern. With that in mind, he believes a union is better able to protect its people from foreign wars than a loose confederation of states because a single union will approach treaties with foreign nations consistently and justly.