Editing The Federalist Papers

'''The Federalist Papers''' were 85 essays promoting the [[Constitution of the United States]]; these essays were intended to convince the New York delegation of the 1787 Constitutional Convention to [[Constitution_of_the_United_States#Article_7_.28Ratification.29:_1_.C2.B6|ratify]] the Constitution for the state of New York. These were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

These essays serve as supplementary readings for American law school students.

== Authorships ==
Alexander Hamilton wrote a total of 51 essays while John Jay wrote only 5 essays.

James Madison wrote Federalist 10, 41-46, 48, and 51.

Alexander Hamilton wrote all the essays dealing with the subject of the Presidency. He originally called for the Presidency to be a life-time office.

Moreover, Alexander Hamilton wrote all the 6 essays dealing with the subject of the federal Judiciary. So, the Judiciary is the branch of government about which the Federalist Papers said the least.

==No. 9: "Balances & checks"==
In Federalist Number 9, Hamilton describes the way the two houses of the American federal legislature would balance and check each other.

==No. 10: Factions==
Federalist Number 10 is regarded by some American legal experts as the most important and influential of the Federalist Papers.

Madison discusses factions. He explains that one way to eliminate the causes of factions is by abolishing liberty itself. Another way to eliminate factions, Madison elaborates, is to tyrannically force adherence to one opinion.

Madison states that economic disparities among humans are inevitable. This, in turn, increases the tendency to form factions.

Madison warns that if a coalition of factions gains a majority in a direct democracy, then this coalition will impose its will upon the minority.

==No. 17: State powers==
Federalist Number 17 is where Hamilton lists state powers:
# Family; Family life such as marriage
# Land; Land and other legal property rights
# Agriculture
# Food production and distribution
# Education of children
# Police powers to protect people from crimes.

==No. 39==
In Federalist 39, Madison explains that the term "republic" is often applied imprecisely. Madison describes a republic as a government based on indirect popular sovereignty. Furthermore, the office-holders in a republic hold office for a limited period as opposed to being appointed for life.

==No. 40: Legality of the Convention==
In Federalist 40, Madison addresses the question of the legality of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 when the Convention's direction took a turn for the abrogation of the Articles of Confederation.

==No. 41—44: Federal powers==
Federalists 41, 42, 43, and 44 enumerate the powers of the federal government. These powers are listed in [[Constitution_of_the_United_States#Article_1_.28Legislature.29:_10_sections|Article I]], Section 8, of the [[United States Constitution]]. Most of the enumerated federal powers are given to Congress. Nevertheless, the foreign affairs, diplomacy, and treaty-making are assigned to the Presidency under Article II (2), Section 2.

==No. 45—46: Federal encroachment==
In Federalists 45 and 46, Madison explains that no law can be written to circumscribe federal powers; the solution is to constantly use the political process to limit the powers of the central government.

Madison explores if federal powers would be "dangerous" to the States. He describes the powers of the States. For example, in the 1700s, the State legislatures would have to decide on the elections of the President of the United States and federal Senators.

==No. 47—51: Separation of powers==
Madison explores the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers in Federalists 47 through 51.

In Federalist 47, Madison answers the Anti-Federalists who claim that the new Federal government superseding the Articles of Confederation (AoC) doesn't properly separate the horizontal governmental powers. In this essay, Madison pays tribute to the work of '''Montesquieu''', ''The Spirit of Law'' (1748).

In Federalist 48, Madison explains that an absolute separation of powers is impossible in practice.

In Federalist 49, Madison rejects the idea of Thomas Jefferson that a convention should resolve conflicts between the governmental branches by means of a referendum.

In Federalist 50, Madison rejects the idea of regularly scheduled conventions; this is in line with Madison's opposition to direct democracy.

In Federalist 51, Madison delves into checks and balances among governmental branches.

==No. 52: House of Representatives==
In Federalist Number 52, Madison outlines the process of choosing the members of the House of Representatives.

==No. 54: Apportionment==
In Federalist Number 54, Madison reviews the apportionment of the members of the House.

==No. 55—58: # of House members==
In Federalists 55 through 58, the optimal number of House members is examined.

Under Article I (1), Section 2, of the US Constitution, the House would start with 65 members. In addition, "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed [1 per 30,000]."

===No. 55===
James Madison rejects direct democracy in Number 55 because of the "degree of depravity in mankind."<ref>https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed55.asp</ref>

==No. 59: House elections==
Federalist 59 is a defense that the House of Representatives should regulate the rules for the election of its own members.

==No. 60—61: House elections cont'd==

==No. 62: Senate==
Members of the federal Senate must be at 30 years of age, have been an American citizen for 9 years, and have been an inhabitant of the relevant State.

==No. 63==
Madison spends much time justifying the creation of Senate positions with 6-year terms in Federalist Paper number 63.

==No. 64: Senate & foreign affairs==
Jay explores the role of the Senate in foreign affairs. The Senate has the power to ratify treaties with a ⅔ vote.

==No. 65—66: Impeachments==
The Senate conducts trials of impeachments of high-ranking federal officials. This is the subject of Article II (2), [[Constitution_of_the_United_States#Article_2_.28Executive.29:_4_sections|Section 4]], of the US Constitution.

==No. 67—69: Presidency==
In Federalists 67 through 69, Hamilton explains that the powers of an American president would be much more limited than the powers of a monarch.

=== No. 68: Electoral College ===
Hamilton says the for each State, the number of Electors need to equal the total number of that State's Senators and Representatives. Ironically, no current Senator or Representative is allowed to be an Elector.

State legislators are allowed to appoint themselves and others as Electors. The list of Electors would then be sent to the President of the US Senate, the Vice President of the United States.

=== No. 69: non-royal President ===
While the Monarch of Great Britain is the head of that country's state religion, the President of the United States isn't the "governor of the national church!"<ref>https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed69.asp</ref> All in all, the powers of a term-limited President isn't equivalent to a national monarch.

==No. 70—77: Unitary Presidency==
In Federalist 70 through 77, Hamilton contends that the powers of the Presidency must reside in the hands of a single chief executive officer.

=== No. 71: Term of office ===
According to Hamilton, four (4) years is enough to ensure that a President feels secure in his position to stand up to his enemies.

=== No. 72: Appointments ===
The President can appoint Agency heads.

=== No. 73: Salary & veto ===

=== No. 74: Pardon ===
In Federalist 74, Hamilton discusses the pardon power of the President.

==No. 75: Treaty power==
In Federalist Number 75, Alexander Hamilton states that the President's treaty power needs to require the consent of the Senate.

==No. 78: Judiciary==
In Federalist Number 78, Alexander Hamilton writes the first essay in this series concerning the Judicial branch. According to Hamilton, "the judiciary...will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution."<ref>https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp</ref> The federal judiciary must rely on the executive branch to willingly enforce the former's judgments.

Hamilton describes the Judiciary as "the weakest of the three departments of power... it is in continual jeopardy of being overpowered, awed, or influenced by its co-ordinate branches."

According to Hamilton, independence of the judicial branches must be protected by three methods:
# the method of appointment of the judges
# the tenure of the judges, and
# their salaries.

==No. 79: Salary of judges==
In Federalist Number 79, Alexander Hamilton calls for an adequate salary for judges that is increased over time.<ref>https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed79.asp</ref> He opposes salary reductions for judges. He explains, {{Quote|A POWER OVER A MAN's SUBSISTENCE AMOUNTS TO A POWER OVER HIS WILL.}}

On the matter of retirement, the constitution of New York had a mandatory retirement of 60 at the time. Hamilton opposes mandatory retirement of elderly judges.

==No. 80: Federal courts==
In Federalist Number 80, Alexander Hamilton delves into the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary. He explains what types of disputes should be heard in federal courts.


==No. 81: State courts==
In Federalist Number 81, Alexander Hamilton announces that he doesn't believe that state courts are sufficiently independent.

==No. 82: Federal & State courts==
In Federalist Number 82, Alexander Hamilton states that state courts can share <span style="background:yellow">concurrent jurisdiction</span> with federal courts over some cases.


==No. 84: Bill of rights==
In Federalist Number 84, Alexander Hamilton argues against the inclusion of a bill of rights.

John Hancock and Sam Adams stipulated the inclusion of a bill of right as a condition for supporting the new federal Constitution of 1787. This gave birth to the '''Massachusetts Compromise'''.

==State nullification of federal laws==
In the aftermath of the '''Tariff of 1828''', James Madison re-emerged in his 80s and announced that he didn't mean that each State could unilaterally nullify federal laws. Madison wanted to ensure that his views weren't misconstrued when he wrote the Federalist Papers.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text Complete text at the Library of Congress
* https://fedsoc.org/no86
* https://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_Menus/fed.asp The Federalist Papers at [[Yale Law School]]