‍ The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 essays written in 1787–1788 to persuade the people of New York to ratify the United States Constitution. They were originally published in newspapers under the pseudonym "Publius."‍

The principal authors were:
- Alexander Hamilton – 51 essays
- James Madison – 29 essays
- John Jay – 5 essays

‍ Reading the Complete Collection

The complete collection is about 175,000 words, it is in the public domain, and the full text is available through the Library of Congress edition:
(https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/)
and the Avalon Project at Yale Law School:
(https://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/fed.asp?utm_).

‍ Major Themes

The essays introduced or developed ideas that remain central to American constitutional government:

• Popular sovereignty: Government derives its authority from the people.

• Limited government: Government powers are delegated and constrained by the Constitution.

• Separation of powers: Legislative, executive, and judicial powers should be divided.

• Checks and balances: Each branch should have constitutional means to limit the others.

• Federalism: Power should be shared between the national government and the states.

• An independent judiciary: Courts should be insulated from political pressure.

• Protection against factions: A large republic with many competing interests is less likely to be dominated by a single faction.

The Most Influential Essays

Many constitutional scholars regard these as especially important:

• Federalist No. 10 (Madison): Explains how an extended republic can control the harmful effects of factions without suppressing liberty.

• Federalist No. 51 (Madison): Explains the constitutional system of checks and balances and the famous principle that "ambition must be made to counteract ambition."

• Federalist No. 78 (Hamilton): Defends an independent judiciary and argues that courts should interpret and uphold the Constitution.