The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. The papers were published between 1787-1788 to convince the people of New York State to ratify the United States Constitution. They are considered one of the most influential documents in American history because they outline arguments for why we need a federal government to be in charge instead of individual states. Many historians believe that if it wasn’t for these papers, our country might not have become what it is today.
The Federalist Papers also influenced other countries around the world who wanted their own constitution with a national government like ours such as France and Germany after World War I when they wrote their constitutions after World War II.
- The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to persuade the citizens of New York to ratify the United States Constitution
- These essays are considered some of the most important political writings in American history
- The purpose was to convince people that ratification would create a stronger national government and avoid another war between states
- They believed this because they felt that state governments had become too powerful and their authority undermined federal laws
- They also argued that it would be better for America if there weren’t any other countries trying to take over them
- To make sure everyone understood what they wrote, they used simple language with short sentences so readers could easily understand it all