The Federalist Papers
by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison
Contents
FEDERALIST No. I. General Introduction
FEDERALIST No. II. Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence
FEDERALIST No. III. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
FEDERALIST No. IV. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
FEDERALIST No. V. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
FEDERALIST No. VI. Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States
FEDERALIST No. VII. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States)
FEDERALIST No. VIII. The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States
FEDERALIST No. IX. The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection
FEDERALIST No. X. The Same Subject Continued (The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection)
FEDERALIST No. XI. The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy
FEDERALIST No. XII. The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue
FEDERALIST No. XIII. Advantage of the Union in Respect to Economy in Government
FEDERALIST No. XIV. Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered
FEDERALIST No. XV. The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union
FEDERALIST No. XVI. The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)
FEDERALIST No. XVII. The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)
FEDERALIST No. XVIII. The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)
FEDERALIST No. XIX. The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)
FEDERALIST No. XX. The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)
FEDERALIST No. XXI. Other Defects of the Present Confederation
FEDERALIST No. XXII. The Same Subject Continued (Other Defects of the Present Confederation)
FEDERALIST No. XXIII. The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union
FEDERALIST No. XXIV. The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered
FEDERALIST No. XXV. The Same Subject Continued (The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered)
FEDERALIST No. XXVI. The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered.
FEDERALIST No. XXVII. The Same Subject Continued (The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered)
FEDERALIST No. XXVIII. The Same Subject Continued (The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered)
FEDERALIST No. XXIX. Concerning the Militia
FEDERALIST No. XXX. Concerning the General Power of Taxation
FEDERALIST No. XXXI. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXII. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXIII. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXIV. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXV. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXVI. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the General Power of Taxation)
FEDERALIST No. XXXVII. Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government.
FEDERALIST No. XXXVIII. The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed.
FEDERALIST No. XXXIX. The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles
FEDERALIST No. XL. On the Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained.
FEDERALIST No. XLI. General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution
FEDERALIST No. XLII. The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered
FEDERALIST No. XLIII. The Same Subject Continued (The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered)
FEDERALIST No. XLIV. Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States
FEDERALIST No. XLV. The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments.
FEDERALIST No. XLVI. The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared
FEDERALIST No. XLVII. The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts.
FEDERALIST No. XLVIII. These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other.
FEDERALIST No. XLIX. Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention.
FEDERALIST No. L. Periodical Appeals to the People Considered
FEDERALIST No. LI. The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments.
FEDERALIST No. LII. The House of Representatives
FEDERALIST No. LIII. The Same Subject Continued (The House of Representatives)
FEDERALIST No. LIV. The Apportionment of Members Among the States
FEDERALIST No. LV. The Total Number of the House of Representatives
FEDERALIST No. LVI. The Same Subject Continued (The Total Number of the House of Representatives)
FEDERALIST No. LVII. The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the Many Considered in Connection with Representation.
FEDERALIST No. LVIII. Objection That The Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of Population Demands.
FEDERALIST No. LIV. Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members
FEDERALIST No. LX. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members)
FEDERALIST No. LXI. The Same Subject Continued (Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members)
FEDERALIST No. LXII. The Senate
FEDERALIST No. LXIII. The Senate Continued
FEDERALIST No. LXIV. The Powers of the Senate
FEDERALIST No. LXV. The Powers of the Senate Continued
FEDERALIST No. LXVI. Objections to the Power of the Senate To Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered.
FEDERALIST No. LXVII. The Executive Department
FEDERALIST No. LXVIII. The Mode of Electing the President
FEDERALIST No. LXIX. The Real Character of the Executive
FEDERALIST No. LXX. The Executive Department Further Considered
FEDERALIST No. LXX. The Executive Department Further Considered
FEDERALIST No. LXXI. The Duration in Office of the Executive
FEDERALIST No. LXXII. The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered.
FEDERALIST No. LXXIII. The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power
FEDERALIST No. LXXIV. The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive.
FEDERALIST No. LXXV. The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive
FEDERALIST No. LXXVI. The Appointing Power of the Executive
FEDERALIST No. LXXVII. The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered.
FEDERALIST No. LXXVIII. The Judiciary Department
FEDERALIST No. LXXIX. The Judiciary Continued
FEDERALIST No. LXXX. The Powers of the Judiciary
FEDERALIST No. LXXXI. The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority.
FEDERALIST No. LXXXII. The Judiciary Continued.
FEDERALIST No. LXXXIII. The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial by Jury
FEDERALIST No. LXXXIV. Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered.
FEDERALIST No. LXXXV. Concluding Remarks
THE FEDERALIST.
No. I.
General Introduction
For the Independent Journal.
HAMILTON
To the People of the State of New York:
After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting
federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new
Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its
own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the
existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it
is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most
interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems
to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct
and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men
are really capable or not of establishing good government from
reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend
for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be
any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with
propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made;
and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view,
deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.
This idea will add the inducements of philanthropy to those of
patriotism, to heighten the solicitude which all considerate and good
men must feel for the event. Happy will it be if our choice should be
directed by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and
unbiased by considerations not connected with the public good. But this
is a thing more ardently to be wished than seriously to be expected.
The plan offered to our deliberations affects too many particular
interests, innovates upon too many local institutions, not to involve
in its discussion a variety of objects foreign to its merits, and of
views, passions and prejudices little favorable to the discovery of
truth.
Among the most formidable of the obstacles which the new Constitution
will have to encounter may readily be distinguished the obvious
interest of a certain class of men in every State to resist all changes
which may hazard a diminution of the power, emolument, and consequence
of the offices they hold under the State establishments; and the
perverted ambition of another class of men, who will either hope to
aggrandize themselves by the confusions of their country, or will
flatter themselves with fairer prospects of elevation from the
subdivision of the empire into several partial confederacies than from
its union under one government.
It is not, however, my design to dwell upon observations of this
nature. I am well aware that it would be disingenuous to resolve
indiscriminately the opposition of any set of men (merely because their
situations might subject them to suspicion) into interested or
ambitious views. Candor will oblige us to admit that even such men may
be actuated by upright intentions; and it cannot be doubted that much
of the opposition which has made its appearance, or may hereafter make
its appearance, will spring from sources, blameless at least, if not
respectable—the honest errors of minds led astray by preconceived
jealousies and fears. So numerous indeed and so powerful are the causes
which serve to give a false bias to the judgment, that we, upon many
occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong as well as on the right
side of questions of the first magnitude to society. This circumstance,
if duly attended to, would furnish a lesson of moderation to those who
are ever so much persuaded of their being in the right in any
controversy. And a further reason for caution, in this respect, might
be drawn from the reflection that we are not always sure that those who
advocate the truth are influenced by purer principles than their
antagonists. Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party opposition,
and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt to operate
as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right side of a
question. Were there not even these inducements to moderation, nothing
could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at all
times, characterized political parties. For in politics, as in
religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and
sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.
And yet, however just these sentiments will be allowed to be, we have
already sufficient indications that it will happen in this as in all
former cases of great national discussion. A torrent of angry and
malignant passions will be let loose. To judge from the conduct of the
opposite parties, we shall be led to conclude that they will mutually
hope to evince the justness of their opinions, and to increase the
number of their converts by the loudness of their declamations and the
bitterness of their invectives. An enlightened zeal for the energy and
efficiency of government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a
temper fond of despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty.
An over-scrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people,
which is more commonly the fault of the head than of the heart, will be
represented as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for
popularity at the expense of the public good. It will be forgotten, on
the one hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that
the noble enthusiasm of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of
narrow and illiberal distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally
forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of
liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed
judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous
ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the
rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for
the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that
the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction
of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned
the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career
by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and
ending tyrants.
In the course of the preceding observations, I have had an eye, my
fellow-citizens, to putting you upon your guard against all attempts,
from whatever quarter, to influence your decision in a matter of the
utmost moment to your welfare, by any impressions other than those
which may result from the evidence of truth. You will, no doubt, at the
same time, have collected from the general scope of them, that they
proceed from a source not unfriendly to the new Constitution. Yes, my
countrymen, I own to you that, after having given it an attentive
consideration, I am clearly of opinion it is your interest to adopt it.
I am convinced that this is the safest course for your liberty, your
dignity, and your happiness. I affect not reserves which I do not feel.
I will not amuse you with an appearance of deliberation when I have
decided. I frankly acknowledge to you my convictions, and I will freely
lay before you the reasons on which they are founded. The consciousness
of good intentions disdains ambiguity. I shall not, however, multiply
professions on this head. My motives must remain in the depository of
my own breast. My arguments will be open to all, and may be judged of
by all. They shall at least be offered in a spirit which will not
disgrace the cause of truth.
I propose, in a series of papers, to discuss the following interesting
particulars:
THE UTILITY OF THE UNION TO YOUR POLITICAL PROSPERITY
THE INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PRESENT CONFEDERATION TO PRESERVE THAT UNION
THE NECESSITY OF A GOVERNMENT AT LEAST EQUALLY ENERGETIC WITH THE ONE
PROPOSED, TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THIS OBJECT THE CONFORMITY OF THE
PROPOSED CONSTITUTION TO THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT
ITS ANALOGY TO YOUR OWN STATE CONSTITUTION and lastly, THE ADDITIONAL
SECURITY WHICH ITS ADOPTION WILL AFFORD TO THE PRESERVATION OF THAT
SPECIES OF GOVERNMENT, TO LIBERTY, AND TO PROPERTY.
In the progress of this discussion I shall endeavor to give a
satisfactory answer to all the objections which shall have made their
appearance, that may seem to have any claim to your attention.
It may perhaps be thought superfluous to offer arguments to prove the
utility of the UNION, a point, no doubt, deeply engraved on the hearts
of the great body of the people in every State, and one, which it may
be imagined, has no adversaries. But the fact is, that we already hear
it whispered in the private circles of those who oppose the new
Constitution, that the thirteen States are of too great extent for any
general system, and that we must of necessity resort to separate
confederacies of distinct portions of the whole.[1] This doctrine will,
in all probability, be gradually propagated, till it has votaries
enough to countenance an open avowal of it. For nothing can be more
evident, to those who are able to take an enlarged view of the subject,
than the alternative of an adoption of the new Constitution or a
dismemberment of the Union. It will therefore be of use to begin by
examining the advantages of that Union, the certain evils, and the
probable dangers, to which every State will be exposed from its
dissolution. This shall accordingly constitute the subject of my next
address.
PUBLIUS.
[1] The same idea, tracing the arguments to their consequences, is
held out in several of the late publications against the new
Constitution.
THE FEDERALIST.
No. II.
Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence
For the Independent Journal.
JAY
To the People of the State of New York:
When the people of America reflect that they are now called upon to
decide a question, which, in its consequences, must prove one of the
most important that ever engaged their attention, the propriety of
their taking a very comprehensive, as well as a very serious, view of
it, will be evident.
Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government,
and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is
instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in
order to vest it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of
consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest
of the people of America that they should, to all general purposes, be
one nation, under one federal government, or that they should divide
themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each
the same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national
government.
It has until lately been a received and uncontradicted opinion that the
prosperity of the people of America depended on their continuing firmly
united, and the wishes, prayers, and efforts of our best and wisest
citizens have been constantly directed to that object. But politicians
now appear, who insist that this opinion is erroneous, and that instead
of looking for safety and happiness in union, we ought to seek it in a
division of the States into distinct confederacies or sovereignties.
However extraordinary this new doctrine may appear, it nevertheless has
its advocates; and certain characters who were much opposed to it
formerly, are at present of the number. Whatever may be the arguments
or inducements which have wrought this change in the sentiments and
declarations of these gentlemen, it certainly would not be wise in the
people at large to adopt these new political tenets without being fully
convinced that they are founded in truth and sound policy.
It has often given me pleasure to observe that independent America was
not composed of detached and distant territories, but that one
connected, fertile, widespreading country was the portion of our
western sons of liberty. Providence has in a particular manner blessed
it with a variety of soils and productions, and watered it with
innumerable streams, for the delight and accommodation of its
inhabitants. A succession of navigable waters forms a kind of chain
round its borders, as if to bind it together; while the most noble
rivers in the world, running at convenient distances, present them with
highways for the easy communication of friendly aids, and the mutual
transportation and exchange of their various commodities.
With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has
been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a
people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language,
professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of
government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by
their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side
throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general
liberty and independence.
This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and
it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance
so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other
by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial,
jealous, and alien sovereignties.
Similar sentiments have hitherto prevailed among all orders and
denominations of men among us. To all general purposes we have
uniformly been one people each individual citizen everywhere enjoying
the same national rights, privileges, and protection. As a nation we
have made peace and war; as a nation we have vanquished our common
enemies; as a nation we have formed alliances, and made treaties, and
entered into various compacts and conventions with foreign states.
A strong sense of the value and blessings of union induced the people,
at a very early period, to institute a federal government to preserve
and perpetuate it. They formed it almost as soon as they had a
political existence; nay, at a time when their habitations were in
flames, when many of their citizens were bleeding, and when the
progress of hostility and desolation left little room for those calm
and mature inquiries and reflections which must ever precede the
formation of a wise and wellbalanced government for a free people. It
is not to be wondered at, that a government instituted in times so
inauspicious, should on experiment be found greatly deficient and
inadequate to the purpose it was intended to answer.
This intelligent people perceived and regretted these defects. Still
continuing no less attached to union than enamored of liberty, they
observed the danger which immediately threatened the former and more
remotely the latter; and being pursuaded that ample security for both
could only be found in a national government more wisely framed, they
as with one voice, convened the late convention at Philadelphia, to
take that important subject under consideration.
This convention composed of men who possessed the confidence of the
people, and many of whom had become highly distinguished by their
patriotism, virtue and wisdom, in times which tried the minds and
hearts of men, undertook the arduous task. In the mild season of peace,
with minds unoccupied by other subjects, they passed many months in
cool, uninterrupted, and daily consultation; and finally, without
having been awed by power, or influenced by any passions except love
for their country, they presented and recommended to the people the
plan produced by their joint and very unanimous councils.
Admit, for so is the fact, that this plan is only RECOMMENDED, not
imposed, yet let it be remembered that it is neither recommended to
BLIND approbation, nor to BLIND reprobation; but to that sedate and
candid consideration which the magnitude and importance of the subject
demand, and which it certainly ought to receive. But this (as was
remarked in the foregoing number of this paper) is more to be wished
than expected, that it may be so considered and examined. Experience on
a former occasion teaches us not to be too sanguine in such hopes. It
is not yet forgotten that well-grounded apprehensions of imminent
danger induced the people of America to form the memorable Congress of
1774. That body recommended certain measures to their constituents, and
the event proved their wisdom; yet it is fresh in our memories how soon
the press began to teem with pamphlets and weekly papers against those
very measures. Not only many of the officers of government, who obeyed
the dictates of personal interest, but others, from a mistaken estimate
of consequences, or the undue influence of former attachments, or whose
ambition aimed at objects which did not correspond with the public
good, were indefatigable in their efforts to pursuade the people to
reject the advice of that patriotic Congress. Many, indeed, were
deceived and deluded, but the great majority of the people reasoned and
decided judiciously; and happy they are in reflecting that they did so.
They considered that the Congress was composed of many wise and
experienced men. That, being convened from different parts of the
country, they brought with them and communicated to each other a
variety of useful information. That, in the course of the time they
passed together in inquiring into and discussing the true interests of
their country, they must have acquired very accurate knowledge on that
head. That they were individually interested in the public liberty and
prosperity, and therefore that it was not less their inclination than
their duty to recommend only such measures as, after the most mature
deliberation, they really thought prudent and advisable.
These and similar considerations then induced the people to rely
greatly on the judgment and integrity of the Congress; and they took
their advice, notwithstanding the various arts and endeavors used to
deter them from it. But if the people at large had reason to confide in
the men of that Congress, few of whom had been fully tried or generally
known, still greater reason have they now to respect the judgment and
advice of the convention, for it is well known that some of the most
distinguished members of that Congress, who have been since tried and
justly approved for patriotism and abilities, and who have grown old in
acquiring political information, were also members of this convention,
and carried into it their accumulated knowledge and experience.
It is worthy of remark that not only the first, but every succeeding
Congress, as well as the late convention, have invariably joined with
the people in thinking that the prosperity of America depended on its
Union. To preserve and perpetuate it was the great object of the people
in forming that convention, and it is also the great object of the plan
which the convention has advised them to adopt. With what propriety,
therefore, or for what good purposes, are attempts at this particular
period made by some men to depreciate the importance of the Union? Or
why is it suggested that three or four confederacies would be better
than one? I am persuaded in my own mind that the people have always
thought right on this subject, and that their universal and uniform
attachment to the cause of the Union rests on great and weighty
reasons, which I shall endeavor to develop and explain in some ensuing
papers. They who promote the idea of substituting a number of distinct
confederacies in the room of the plan of the convention, seem clearly
to foresee that the rejection of it would put the continuance of the
Union in the utmost jeopardy. That certainly would be the case, and I
sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good
citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America
will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: “FAREWELL! A
LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.”
PUBLIUS.
THE FEDERALIST.
No. III.
The Same Subject Continued
(Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
For the Independent Journal.
JAY
To the People of the State of New York:
It is not a new observation that the people of any country (if, like
the Americans, intelligent and wellinformed) seldom adopt and steadily
persevere for many years in an erroneous opinion respecting their
interests. That consideration naturally tends to create great respect
for the high opinion which the people of America have so long and
uniformly entertained of the importance of their continuing firmly
united under one federal government, vested with sufficient powers for
all general and national purposes.
The more attentively I consider and investigate the reasons which
appear to have given birth to this opinion, the more I become convinced
that they are cogent and conclusive.
Among the many objects to which a wise and free people find it
necessary to direct their attention, that of providing for their SAFETY
seems to be the first. The SAFETY of the people doubtless has relation
to a great variety of circumstances and considerations, and
consequently affords great latitude to those who wish to define it
precisely and comprehensively.
At present I mean only to consider it as it respects security for the
preservation of peace and tranquillity, as well as against dangers from
FOREIGN ARMS AND INFLUENCE, as from dangers of the LIKE KIND arising
from domestic causes. As the former of these comes first in order, it
is proper it should be the first discussed. Let us therefore proceed to
examine whether the people are not right in their opinion that a
cordial Union, under an efficient national government, affords them the
best security that can be devised against HOSTILITIES from abroad.
The number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will
always be found to be in proportion to the number and weight of the
causes, whether REAL or PRETENDED, which PROVOKE or INVITE them. If
this remark be just, it becomes useful to inquire whether so many JUST
causes of war are likely to be given by UNITED AMERICA as by DISUNITED
America; for if it should turn out that United America will probably
give the fewest, then it will follow that in this respect the Union
tends most to preserve the people in a state of peace with other
nations.
The JUST causes of war, for the most part, arise either from violation
of treaties or from direct violence. America has already formed
treaties with no less than six foreign nations, and all of them, except
Prussia, are maritime, and therefore able to annoy and injure us. She
has also extensive commerce with Portugal, Spain, and Britain, and,
with respect to the two latter, has, in addition, the circumstance of
neighborhood to attend to.
It is of high importance to the peace of America that she observe the
laws of nations towards all these powers, and to me it appears evident
that this will be more perfectly and punctually done by one national
government than it could be either by thirteen separate States or by
three or four distinct confederacies.
Because when once an efficient national government is established, the
best men in the country will not only consent to serve, but also will
generally be appointed to manage it; for, although town or country, or
other contracted influence, may place men in State assemblies, or
senates, or courts of justice, or executive departments, yet more
general and extensive reputation for talents and other qualifications
will be necessary to recommend men to offices under the national
government,—especially as it will have the widest field for choice, and
never experience that want of proper persons which is not uncommon in
some of the States. Hence, it will result that the administration, the
political counsels, and the judicial decisions of the national
government will be more wise, systematical, and judicious than those of
individual States, and consequently more satisfactory with respect to
other nations, as well as more SAFE with respect to us.
Because, under the national government, treaties and articles of
treaties, as well as the laws of nations, will always be expounded in
one sense and executed in the same manner,—whereas, adjudications on
the same points and questions, in thirteen States, or in three or four
confederacies, will not always accord or be consistent; and that, as
well from the variety of independent courts and judges appointed by
different and independent governments, as from the different local laws
and interests which may affect and influence them. The wisdom of the
convention, in committing such questions to the jurisdiction and
judgment of courts appointed by and responsible only to one national
government, cannot be too much commended.
Because the prospect of present loss or advantage may often tempt the
governing party in one or two States to swerve from good faith and
justice; but those temptations, not reaching the other States, and
consequently having little or no influence on the national government,
the temptation will be fruitless, and good faith and justice be
preserved. The case of the treaty of peace with Britain adds great
weight to this reasoning.
Because, even if the governing party in a State should be disposed to
resist such temptations, yet as such temptations may, and commonly do,
result from circumstances peculiar to the State, and may affect a great
number of the inhabitants, the governing party may not always be able,
if willing, to prevent the injustice meditated, or to punish the
aggressors. But the national government, not being affected by those
local circumstances, will neither be induced to commit the wrong
themselves, nor want power or inclination to prevent or punish its
commission by others.
So far, therefore, as either designed or accidental violations of
treaties and the laws of nations afford JUST causes of war, they are
less to be apprehended under one general government than under several
lesser ones, and in that respect the former most favors the SAFETY of
the people.
As to those just causes of war which proceed from direct and unlawful
violence, it appears equally clear to me that one good national
government affords vastly more security against dangers of that sort
than can be derived from any other quarter.
Because such violences are more frequently caused by the passions and
interests of a part than of the whole; of one or two States than of the
Union. Not a single Indian war has yet been occasioned by aggressions
of the present federal government, feeble as it is; but there are
several instances of Indian hostilities having been provoked by the
improper conduct of individual States, who, either unable or unwilling
to restrain or punish offenses, have given occasion to the slaughter of
many innocent inhabitants.
The neighborhood of Spanish and British territories, bordering on some
States and not on others, naturally confines the causes of quarrel more
immediately to the borderers. The bordering States, if any, will be
those who, under the impulse of sudden irritation, and a quick sense of
apparent interest or injury, will be most likely, by direct violence,
to excite war with these nations; and nothing can so effectually
obviate that danger as a national government, whose wisdom and prudence
will not be diminished by the passions which actuate the parties
immediately interested.
But not only fewer just causes of war will be given by the national
government, but it will also be more in their power to accommodate and
settle them amicably. They will be more temperate and cool, and in that
respect, as well as in others, will be more in capacity to act
advisedly than the offending State. The pride of states, as well as of
men, naturally disposes them to justify all their actions, and opposes
their acknowledging, correcting, or repairing their errors and
offenses. The national government, in such cases, will not be affected
by this pride, but will proceed with moderation and candor to consider
and decide on the means most proper to extricate them from the
difficulties which threaten them.
Besides, it is well known that acknowledgments, explanations, and
compensations are often accepted as satisfactory from a strong united
nation, which would be rejected as unsatisfactory if offered by a State
or confederacy of little consideration or power.
In the year 1685, the state of Genoa having offended Louis XIV.,
endeavored to appease him. He demanded that they should send their
Doge, or chief magistrate, accompanied by four of their senators, to
FRANCE, to ask his pardon and receive his terms. They were obliged to
submit to it for the sake of peace. Would he on any occasion either
have demanded or have received the like humiliation from Spain, or
Britain, or any other POWERFUL nation?
PUBLIUS.
THE FEDERALIST.
No. IV.
The Same Subject Continued
(Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
For the Independent Journal.
JAY
To the People of the State of New York:
My last paper assigned several reasons why the safety of the people
would be best secured by union against the danger it may be exposed to
by JUST causes of war given to other nations; and those reasons show
that such causes would not only be more rarely given, but would also be
more easily accommodated, by a national government than either by the
State governments or the proposed little confederacies.
But the safety of the people of America against dangers from FOREIGN
force depends not only on their forbearing to give JUST causes of war
to other nations, but also on their placing and continuing themselves
in such a situation as not to INVITE hostility or insult; for it need
not be observed that there are PRETENDED as well as just causes of war.
It is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that
nations in general will make war whenever they have a prospect of
getting anything by it; nay, absolute monarchs will often make war when
their nations are to get nothing by it, but for the purposes and
objects merely personal, such as thirst for military glory, revenge for
personal affronts, ambition, or private compacts to aggrandize or
support their particular families or partisans. These and a variety of
other motives, which affect only the mind of the sovereign, often lead
him to engage in wars not sanctified by justice or the voice and
interests of his people. But, independent of these inducements to war,
which are more prevalent in absolute monarchies, but which well deserve
our attention, there are others which affect nations as often as kings;
and some of them will on examination be found to grow out of our
relative situation and circumstances.
With France and with Britain we are rivals in the fisheries, and can
supply their markets cheaper than they can themselves, notwithstanding
any efforts to prevent it by bounties on their own or duties on foreign
fish.
With them and with most other European nations we are rivals in
navigation and the carrying trade; and we shall deceive ourselves if we
suppose that any of them will rejoice to see it flourish; for, as our
carrying trade cannot increase without in some degree diminishing
theirs, it is more their interest, and will be more their policy, to
restrain than to promote it.
In the trade to China and India, we interfere with more than one
nation, inasmuch as it enables us to partake in advantages which they
had in a manner monopolized, and as we thereby supply ourselves with
commodities which we used to purchase from them.
The extension of our own commerce in our own vessels cannot give
pleasure to any nations who possess territories on or near this
continent, because the cheapness and excellence of our productions,
added to the circumstance of vicinity, and the enterprise and address
of our merchants and navigators, will give us a greater share in the
advantages which those territories afford, than consists with the
wishes or policy of their respective sovereigns.
Spain thinks it convenient to shut the Mississippi against us on the
one side, and Britain excludes us from the Saint Lawrence on the other;
nor will either of them permit the other waters which are between them
and us to become the means of mutual intercourse and traffic.
From these and such like considerations, which might, if consistent
with prudence, be more amplified and detailed, it is easy to see that
jealousies and uneasinesses may gradually slide into the minds and
cabinets of other nations, and that we are not to expect that they
should regard our advancement in union, in power and consequence by
land and by sea, with an eye of indifference and composure.
The people of America are aware that inducements to war may arise out
of these circumstances, as well as from others not so obvious at
present, and that whenever such inducements may find fit time and
opportunity for operation, pretenses to color and justify them will not
be wanting. Wisely, therefore, do they consider union and a good
national government as necessary to put and keep them in SUCH A
SITUATION as, instead of INVITING war, will tend to repress and
discourage it. That situation consists in the best possible state of
defense, and necessarily depends on the government, the arms, and the
resources of the country.
As the safety of the whole is the interest of the whole, and cannot be
provided for without government, either one or more or many, let us
inquire whether one good government is not, relative to the object in
question, more competent than any other given number whatever.
One government can collect and avail itself of the talents and
experience of the ablest men, in whatever part of the Union they may be
found. It can move on uniform principles of policy. It can harmonize,
assimilate, and protect the several parts and members, and extend the
benefit of its foresight and precautions to each. In the formation of
treaties, it will regard the interest of the whole, and the particular
interests of the parts as connected with that of the whole. It can
apply the resources and power of the whole to the defense of any
particular part, and that more easily and expeditiously than State
governments or separate confederacies can possibly do, for want of
concert and unity of system. It can place the militia under one plan of
discipline, and, by putting their officers in a proper line of
subordination to the Chief Magistrate, will, as it were, consolidate
them into one corps, and thereby render them more efficient than if
divided into thirteen or into three or four distinct independent
companies.
What would the militia of Britain be if the English militia obeyed the
government of England, if the Scotch militia obeyed the government of
Scotland, and if the Welsh militia obeyed the government of Wales?
Suppose an invasion; would those three governments (if they agreed at
all) be able, with all their respective forces, to operate against the
enemy so effectually as the single government of Great Britain would?
We have heard much of the fleets of Britain, and the time may come, if
we are wise, when the fleets of America may engage attention. But if
one national government, had not so regulated the navigation of Britain
as to make it a nursery for seamen—if one national government had not
called forth all the national means and materials for forming fleets,
their prowess and their thunder would never have been celebrated. Let
England have its navigation and fleet—let Scotland have its navigation
and fleet—let Wales have its navigation and fleet—let Ireland have its
navigation and fleet—let those four of the constituent parts of the
British empire be under four independent governments, and it is easy to
perceive how soon they would each dwindle into comparative
insignificance.
Apply these facts to our own case. Leave America divided into thirteen
or, if you please, into three or four independent governments—what
armies could they raise and pay—what fleets could they ever hope to
have? If one was attacked, would the others fly to its succor, and
spend their blood and money in its defense? Would there be no danger of
their being flattered into neutrality by its specious promises, or
seduced by a too great fondness for peace to decline hazarding their
tranquillity and present safety for the sake of neighbors, of whom
perhaps they have been jealous, and whose importance they are content
to see diminished? Although such conduct would not be wise, it would,
nevertheless, be natural. The history of the states of Greece, and of
other countries, abounds with such instances, and it is not improbable
that what has so often happened would, under similar circumstances,
happen again.
But admit that they might be willing to help the invaded State or
confederacy. How, and when, and in what proportion shall aids of men
and money be afforded? Who shall command the allied armies, and from
which of them shall he receive his orders? Who shall settle the terms
of peace, and in case of disputes what umpire shall decide between them
and compel acquiescence? Various difficulties and inconveniences would
be inseparable from such a situation; whereas one government, watching
over the general and common interests, and combining and directing the
powers and resources of the whole, would be free from all these
embarrassments, and conduce far more to the safety of the people.
But whatever may be our situation, whether firmly united under one
national government, or split into a number of confederacies, certain
it is, that foreign nations will know and view it exactly as it is; and
they will act toward us accordingly. If they see that our national
government is efficient and well administered, our trade prudently
regulated, our militia properly organized and disciplined, our
resources and finances discreetly managed, our credit re-established,
our people free, contented, and united, they will be much more disposed
to cultivate our friendship than provoke our resentment. If, on the
other hand, they find us either destitute of an effectual government
(each State doing right or wrong, as to its rulers may seem
convenient), or split into three or four independent and probably
discordant republics or confederacies, one inclining to Britain,
another to France, and a third to Spain, and perhaps played off against
each other by the three, what a poor, pitiful figure will America make
in their eyes! How liable would she become not only to their contempt
but to their outrage, and how soon would dear-bought experience
proclaim that when a people or family so divide, it never fails to be
against themselves.
PUBLIUS.
THE FEDERALIST.
No. V.
The Same Subject Continued
(Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence)
For the Independent Journal.
JAY
To the People of the State of New York:
Queen Anne, in her letter of the 1st July, 1706, to the Scotch
Parliament, makes some observations on the importance of the UNION then
forming between England and Scotland, which merit our attention. I
shall present the public with one or two extracts from it: “An entire
and perfect union will be the solid foundation of lasting peace: It
will secure your religion, liberty, and property; remove the
animosities amongst yourselves, and the jealousies and differences
betwixt our two kingdoms. It must increase your strength, riches, and
trade; and by this union the whole island, being joined in affection
and free from all apprehensions of different interest, will be ENABLED
TO RESIST ALL ITS ENEMIES.” “We most earnestly recommend to you
calmness and unanimity in this great and weighty affair, that the union
may be brought to a happy conclusion, being the only EFFECTUAL way to
secure our present and future happiness, and disappoint the designs of
our and your enemies, who will doubtless, on this occasion, USE THEIR
UTMOST ENDEAVORS TO PREVENT OR DELAY THIS UNION.”
It was remarked in the preceding paper, that weakness and divisions at
home would invite dangers from abroad; and that nothing would tend more
to secure us from them than union, strength, and good government within
ourselves. This subject is copious and cannot easily be exhausted.