Category — Federalist

Every election poses anew the question that Hamilton asked in Federalist No. 1: "“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?”   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 1 is among the clearest of Hamilton's essays. There are no legal terms, no confusing references to events or anti-Federalist objections addressed. In this first Federalist, Hamilton sets the stage for subsequent essays.   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 82 is a continuation of Nos. 78, 79, 80, and 81 on the structure of the judiciary and is concerned with the inter-operation of state courts, lower federal courts, and the Supreme Court. Hamilton lays out the matter of concurrent jurisdiction and how appeals between the different courts should work.   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 81 is a continuation of Nos. 78, 79, and 80 on the structure of the judiciary. The particular topic in this essay is the organization of the federal judiciary with respect in particular to the Supreme Court. This essay is written almost entirely in rebuttal to an excellent anti-Federalist paper written by Brutus on the same topic.   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 80 is a continuation of No. 78 and No. 79 on the structure of the judiciary. The particular topic in this essay is the proper scope of operation and jurisdiction for the federal judiciary.   Read the rest of this entry »

Herein we'll answer an NPV troll and address: - Arguments against the National Popular Vote - Why the electoral college was designed. - Why it should remain unchanged. - The efforts to subvert the constitution by forming an unconstitutional "compact" between states to force change without going through the amendment process   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 79 is a continuation of No. 78's discussion of the structure of the judiciary. The particular topic in this essay is how judges should be paid and the mechanism for their removal from office.   Read the rest of this entry »

Federalist No. 78 is a defense and justification of the structure of the judiciary branch. This is an attempt to distill Hamilton's prose into 21st Century terms.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Federalist Papers are a primer for understanding the Constitution and the remarkable men whose wisdom and foresight made the American experiment a reality. However, reading the Federalist Papers can be somewhat daunting. In an effort to expand my own comprehension and encourage others, I decided to share my efforts to distill 18th century context, vocabulary, and prose in 21st Century terms.   Read the rest of this entry »

In spite of the Founders' best efforts to create a republic where the evils of faction could not prevail, today the powers of faction hold sway. Congress is growing progressively more and more factious as is evidenced by "deeming" to spend as much as they like without being accountable to actual budget.   Read the rest of this entry »