- Alexander Hamilton (author)
- John Jay (author)
- James Madison (author)
- James McClellan (introduction)
- George W. Carey (introduction)
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.
- EBook PDF
This text-based PDF or EBook was created from the HTML version of this book and is part of the Portable Library of Liberty.
- LF Printer PDF
This text-based PDF was prepared by the typesetters of the LF book.
Buy this Book
Citation
The Federalist (The Gideon Edition), Edited with an Introduction, Reader’s Guide, Constitutional Cross-reference, Index, and Glossary by George W. Carey and James McClellan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001).
Copyright
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
Category:
- United States
Related Collections:
- Classics of Liberty
- American Revolution and Constitution
- Books Published by Liberty Fund
- Law
- Political Theory
Related People
Key Quotes
Politics & Liberty
The internal effects of a mutable policy are still more calamitous. It poisons the blessings of liberty itself. It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be…
Learn more
Politics & Liberty
But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department, the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others… Ambition must be made to counteract…
Learn more
Critical Responses
Book
The Anti-Federalist Writings of the Melancton Smith Circle
Melancton Smith
The Anti-Federalist Writings of the Melancton Smith Circle is a collection of Anti-Federalist writings closely connected to Melancton Smith and his associates in New York, who wrote extensive and penetrating critiques of the proposed constitution. Their writings often contrasted sharply with the…
MORE
Book
View of the Constitution of the United States with Selected Writings
St. George Tucker
View of the Constitution of the United States with Selected Writings of St. George Tucker presents one of the first critical appraisals of the Constitution to be written after ratification. Tucker’s views were often more in line with the decentralized and limited forms of federalism favored by…
MORE
Book
The Essential Antifederalist: Second Edition
William B. Allen and Gordon Lloyd, editors
The Essential Antifederalist Second Edition, presents the main themes of the principal critics of the Constitution. It organizes the oppositional writings thematically which makes possible a ready comparison with the writings of Publius.
Connected Readings
Book
Collected Works of James Wilson, 2 vols.
James Wilson
Besides Wilson’s famous Lectures on Law, this edition includes noteworthy speeches and essays with his opinions in several Supreme Court Cases that further elucidate his thoughts on the Constitution.
MORE
Book
The Anti-Federalist Writings of the Melancton Smith Circle
Melancton Smith
This book of Anti-Federalist writings presents a collection of texts critical of the Constitution as it was originally proposed. The book makes avaiable in a single volume essays that are commensurate in political brilliance and significance with The Federalist.
MORE
Book
The Revolutionary Writings of Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
In this volume, the essays that helped make Hamilton’s reputation as a writer and thinker prior to the ratification of the Constitution are collected. Here one will discover his earliest thoughts is support of the American Revolution and his initial ideas respecting the need for a stronger national…
MORE
Book
Works of Fisher Ames
Fisher Ames
This collection brings together the speeches and letters of one of the most influential Federalists of the Founding Era. They reveal the core sets of ideas that distinguished the Federalists from their Jeffersonian Republican opponents.
MORE
Book
To Secure the Blessings of Liberty: Selected Writings of Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris
This collection of Morris’ writings includes public letters, documents, and speeches presented in chronological order. The collection sheds light on Morris ideas and his influence on the writing and spirit of the Constitution.
MORE
Book
Friends of the Constitution: Writings of the “Other” Federalists, 1787-1788
Colleen A. Sheehan
There were many writers other than John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton who, in 1787 and 1788, argued for the Constitution’s ratification. In a collection central to our understanding of the American founding, Friends of the Constitution brings together forty-nine of the most important…
MORE
Book
View of the Constitution of the United States with Selected Writings
St. George Tucker
This book was the first extended commentary on the US Constitution. It was originally part of Tucker’s “Americanized” or “republicanized” edition of the multivolume Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone.
MORE
Book
The Essential Antifederalist: Second Edition
William B. Allen and Gordon Lloyd, editors
This Revised Edition of The Essential Antifederalist continues the original, important contribution to the history and thought of the founding. Thematically organized, this work helps in making direct comparisons with the arguments presented in the Federalist essays.
