The Federalist Papers and Its Importance
By: Bryce McMann
The Federalist Papers is one of the greatest collections of literature from the time period of 1787-1788 when our country was beginning to form itself. The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 papers written to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the pseudonym "Publius". The Federalist Papers were a great influence on the people in the newly created United States. But people had become greatly divided over the debate of the Constitution in 1788. There were many citizens who were for ratifying the Constitution and there were also many that were against ratifying it. There was nowhere else more divided than New York City. After the Constitution was signed, there was an uproar of backlash of the people living there. Many commentators and newspaper companies claimed that it diminished the rights of the people. Alexander Hamilton feared that he might lose the Constitution in his home state and devised a plan to try to promote the Constitution. He wrote many essays along with his companions John Jay and James Madison. By helping promote the Constitution; Hamilton, Jay, and Madison helped lay the foundation for this country. The Federalist Papers were one of the most influential pieces of writing in the history of the United States. They provided ideas, theories, and safeguards to convince the people of New York to ratify the Constitution and change the government that they live in. Without The Federalist Papers the United States might not have ended up as successful as it is today and things could have been disastrous for the newly formed United States.
The Federalist Papers became a major part of the ratification of the Constitution. Without Hamilton’s commitment to writing The Federalist Papers, the Constitution may not have been ratified in New York. This could have been devastating to the United States. New York was one of the two key states in the ratification of the Constitution. This was because New York had about a fifth of the population in that time period and because New York had huge economic and commercial importance. Without New York and the other key state, Virginia, ratifying; the nation would haven’t been anywhere close as successful without them. The United States also would’ve most likely been split into different parts: The Southern states, the Mid-Atlantic states, and New England. It would have also split the nation’s size and population by half of what it would be with New York and Virginia. Without these states, ratification of the Constitution would’ve been in doubt. Alexander Hamilton saw that he could not let this happen to his home state and decided to make a change about it. He started to write many essays to promote the Constitution. But as I said earlier, New York was a very divided place when it came to the Constitution. After was signed, the Constitution became ...
