The Federalist, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison,
and John Jay, constitutes a text central to the American political
tradition. Published in newspapers in 1787 and 1788 to explain and
promote ratification of the proposed Constitution for the United
States, which up to then were bound by the Articles of
Confederation,
The Federalist remains today of singular importance to
students of liberty around the world.
The new Liberty Fund
edition presents the text of the Gideon edition of
The Federalist, published in 1818, which includes the
preface to the text by Jacob Gideon as well as the responses and
corrections prepared by Madison to the McLean edition of 1810. The
McLean edition had presented the
Federalist texts as corrected by Hamilton and Jay but
not reviewed by Madison.
The Liberty Fund
Federalist also includes a new introduction, a Reader's
Guide outliningÂ-section by sectionÂ-the arguments of
The Federalist, a glossary, and ten appendixes,
including the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of
Confederation, the Virginia Resolution Proposing the Annapolis
Convention, and other key documents leading up to the transmission
of the Constitution to the governors of the several states. Finally,
the Constitution of the United States and Amendments is given, with
marginal cross-references to the pertinent passages in
The Federalist that address, argue for, or comment upon
the specific term, phrase, section, or article of the
Constitution.
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) was secretary and aide-de-camp
to Washington in 1777-81, a member of the Continental Congress in
1782-83 and 1787-88, a representative from New York to the Annapolis
Convention in 1786 and to the Constitutional Convention in 1787,
first U. S. secretary of the treasury in 1789-95, and inspector
general of the army, with the rank of major general, from 1798 to
1800. His efforts to defeat Aaron Burr for the presidency in 1800-01
and for the governorship of New York in 1804 led to his fatal duel
with Burr.
John Jay (1745-1829) was a member of the Continental Congress
in 1774 through 1779 and its president in 1778-79, drafter of New
York's first constitution in 1777, chief justice of the New York
supreme court from 1777 to 1778, U. S. minister to Spain in 1779, a
member of the commission to negotiate peace with Great Britain in
Paris in 1787, U. S. secretary of foreign affairs from 1784 to 1789,
Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795, and governor
of New York from 1795 to 1801.
James Madison (1751-1836) was a member of the Virginia
legislature in 1776-80 and 1784-86, of the Continental Congress in
1780-83, and of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he
earned the title â father of the U. S. Constitution.â He was a
member of the U. S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1797,
where he was a sponsor of the Bill of Rights and an opponent of
Hamilton's financial measures. He was the author of the Virginia
Resolutions of 1798 in opposition to the U. S. alien and sedition
laws. He was U. S. secretary of state in 1801-09, President of the
U. S. in 1809-17, and rector of the University of Virginia, 1826-36.
George W. Carey is a professor of government at Georgetown
University and the editor of several works on American government.
He is the author of In Defense of the Constitution, published by
Liberty Fund.
James McClellan (1937-2005) was James Bryce Visiting Fellow
in American Studies at the Institute of United States Studies,
University of London, and the author of Liberty, Order, and Justic
