Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) · John Jay (1745–1829) · James Madison (1751–1836)
Read by Kim Braun, DaveF, Anadaxis_Canejia, Robert Scott, Scott Mather, Bookworm, featherheadfop, Leon Mire, Robin Cotter, Maria Morabe · 85 chapters · 21 h 11
In 1787 the United States had a new Constitution on paper and a fierce debate about whether to accept it. To make the case, three men, writing under a shared pen name, produced a stream of essays for New York newspapers. They explained why a stronger union was necessary, how power should be divided, what could go wrong with factions, and why a large republic might be safer than a small one. The Federalist Papers are arguments, not stories, but they have a clarity and a conviction that carry the listener along. Eighty-five essays and some twenty-one hours make this a major text of political thought, still quoted by lawyers, judges and citizens today, and the best way to understand what its authors hoped to build.
Introduction
The Federalist Papers, correctly known as The Federalist, are a series of eighty-five essays written to urge the ratification of the United States Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, who lived from 1755 to 1804, wrote most of them. James Madison, who lived from 1751 to 1836, and John Jay, who lived from 1745 to 1829, contributed the rest. The three men published under the shared name Publius, a reference to an early defender of the Roman republic.
Seventy-seven of the essays appeared in newspapers in New York, notably The Independent Journal and The New York Packet, between October 1787 and August 1788. A collection of these and eight others was published in book form in 1788 by the printers J. and A. M'Lean. Written in the heat of a political campaign, the essays were meant to persuade, but they also set out a theory of government with remarkable depth. They discuss the dangers of faction, the separation of powers, the role of an independent judiciary and the balance between state and federal authority.
Today the Papers serve as a primary source for interpreting the Constitution, and courts have cited them many times. In this LibriVox recording, volunteers read the eighty-five essays, each identified by number and author, for a total of about twenty-one hours.
Why listen? Because they show reasoning in action. Whether or not you agree with every argument, the essays offer a rare chance to follow the founders as they explained their own ideas, and to hear one of the founding debates of modern democracy.
Public domain
Alexander Hamilton died in 1804: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
John Jay died in 1829: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
James Madison died in 1836: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
