The Federalist Papers

On Federalist No. 13: Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 13: Advantage of the Union in...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton offers a brief, almost bookkeeping argument: one national government is simply cheaper to run than several rival ones. Economy in government is presented as its own kind of public...

On Federalist No. 13: Advantage of the Union in...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton offers a brief, almost bookkeeping argument: one national government is simply cheaper to run than several rival ones. Economy in government is presented as its own kind of public...

On Federalist No. 12: The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 12: The Utility of the Union ...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton continues on revenue, showing how a union can raise the funds a government needs through trade rather than by squeezing its citizens. The practical point underneath is that a...

On Federalist No. 12: The Utility of the Union ...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton continues on revenue, showing how a union can raise the funds a government needs through trade rather than by squeezing its citizens. The practical point underneath is that a...

On Federalist No. 11: The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 11: The Utility of the Union ...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton makes the commercial argument for union: a single market and a shared navy would give America real weight in trade and real protection at sea. Prosperity and independence, he...

On Federalist No. 11: The Utility of the Union ...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton makes the commercial argument for union: a single market and a shared navy would give America real weight in trade and real protection at sea. Prosperity and independence, he...

On Federalist No. 10: The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 10: The Same Subject Continue...

Michael Fowler

Madison's most famous essay confronts the problem of faction head on, arguing that a large republic can dilute the power of any single interest rather than be captured by it....

On Federalist No. 10: The Same Subject Continue...

Michael Fowler

Madison's most famous essay confronts the problem of faction head on, arguing that a large republic can dilute the power of any single interest rather than be captured by it....

On Federalist No. 9: The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 9: The Utility of the Union a...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton argues that a firm union is the best guard against the factional turmoil that wrecked earlier republics. Drawing on newer thinking about how a larger republic can govern itself,...

On Federalist No. 9: The Utility of the Union a...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton argues that a firm union is the best guard against the factional turmoil that wrecked earlier republics. Drawing on newer thinking about how a larger republic can govern itself,...

On Federalist No. 8: The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States, a Reading Room essay

On Federalist No. 8: The Consequences of Hostil...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton describes what war between the states would cost a free people: standing armies, hardened borders, and the steady erosion of the liberties that peace allows. The warning is concrete,...

On Federalist No. 8: The Consequences of Hostil...

Michael Fowler

Hamilton describes what war between the states would cost a free people: standing armies, hardened borders, and the steady erosion of the liberties that peace allows. The warning is concrete,...