Federalist: The Gideon Edition - hardcover

The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay constitutes a text central to the American political tradition. Written and published in newspapers in 1787 and 1788 to explain and promote ratification of the proposed Constitution for the United States, which were then bound by the Articles of Confederation, The Federalist remains of singular importance to students of liberty around the world. The Liberty Fund edition of Federalist includes a new introduction notes to The Federalist, a glossary, and the entirety of the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution. Adjoining the text of the Constitution are cross-references linking provisions of the Constitution to the pertinent passages in The Federalist that address the specific term, phrase, section, or article within the Constitution., "This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren ... should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties." So wrote John Jay, one of the revolutionary authors of The Federalist Papers, arguing that if the United States was truly to be a single nation, its leaders would have to agree on universally binding rules of governance--in short, a constitution. In a brilliant set of essays, Jay and his colleagues Alexander Hamilton and James Madison explored in minute detail the implications of establishing a kind of rule that would engage as many citizens as possible and that would include a system of checks and balances. Their arguments proved successful in the end, and The Federalist Papers stand as key documents in the founding of the United States.