Selected papers from the Federalist Papers

The following are excerpts from the Federalist Papers, written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. They describe in detail the debate over each principle of the Constitution and the reasons behind their inclusion in this inspired document.

In order to make this easier to digest, we’ve abridged the full document ( only 18 of the 85) focusing on Governmental Theory, and the “separation of powers” between the sovereign States and the national government, and hi-lited the most poignant paragraphs.

Since it was written in an old English manner, we’ve included footnotes that hopefully make it easier to understand.