The Federalist Papers

1. New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham presents the brilliant and stirring essays in defense of the Constitution-written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison-that made the American republic.

1. New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham presents the brilliant and stirring essays in defense of the Constitution-written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison-that made the American republic.

In September 1787, after a long summer of intense deliberation and compromise, the Federal Convention released a proposed Constitution of the United States-and immediately ignited a firestorm. Public debate was passionate and fierce. Supporters, the Federalists, believed the Constitution would save the floundering former colonies from the confusion and anarchy of the current, weak government. Detractors held that adopting the Constitution would mean nothing less than the end of American liberty.

The Federalists-among them George Washington and Benjamin Franklin-knew that the stakes could not be higher- the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and America’s very existence as an independent nation, depended on the protection of the Constitution. And so on Saturday, October 27, 1787, Alexander Hamilton came to its defense, publishing the first column of what would come to be known as The Federalist Papers.

Written by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay from October 1787 to August 1788-a span of 294 days that ranks among the most consequential periods in politics-The Federalist Papers are part history, part political science, and part theology. Introduced here by bestselling American historian and biographer Jon Meacham, they offer unparalleled insight into the workings of the democratic process and the values underpinning the American project-then as now.

Author Biography

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer. The Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, he is the author of the New York Times bestsellers And There Was Light- Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, His Truth Is Marching On- John Lewis and the Power of Hope, The Soul of America, The Hope of Glory- Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus, Destiny and Power- The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, Thomas Jefferson- The Art of Power, American Lion- Andrew Jackson in the White House, American Gospel, and Franklin and Winston.