Federalist Papers Written More Than Two Hundred

Federalist Papers

Written more than two hundred years ago, Alexander Hamilton's, John Jay's and James Madison's Federalist Papers remain completely relevant in describing American political philosophy and clarifying the country's political history. The Federalist Papers outline some of the main causes for the creation of a new nation based on fundamental rights, freedoms, and personal liberties. As their title suggests, the papers set forth an argument in favor of a strong national government that could secure the personal safety and domestic security of all citizens of the United States. However, several of the papers contain ideas that have become outmoded or in some cases, incorrect.

In Paper 8, the authors describe the need for political unification of disparate states for military defense reasons. When the states are unified under a federal government, they will be better protected from hostile external forces. In contrast, small states are vulnerable and must maintain standing armies; such standing armies can eventually infringe upon personal rights and freedoms. Therefore, according to the authors, the states of the Union should accept the Constitution in providing for their national security needs. The unique geography of the United States underscores the fact that a unified government would be more effective than several different states in fighting a foreign war. Several points in Paper 8 remain relevant today. For example, the authors note that "It is of the nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority." Today, during the "war on terror," the executive branch of government has acted with considerable authority over other branches. Likewise, the authors describe a "revolution in the system of war," in which the citizens of the United States are for the most part more concerned with "the arts of industry, and the science of finance: than with military matters. This fact remains true until this day. Finally, the Federalist Papers pinpoint the current view of war and the military as a "spirit of jealous acquiescence in a necessary evil."

On the other hand, Paper 8 characterizes the European states as they were in the eighteenth century: isolated, hostile, and frequently at war. European political realities have changed much since the penning of the Federalist Papers. European nations are no longer ruled by monarchs or despots and the European Union is not hostile to American interests in general.

Federalist Paper 13 describes the importance of a strong union for reasons of trade and commerce. In fact, the United States has taken this idea one step further through the creation of NAFTA and other regional trade agreements that ensure for fluid trading and international commerce. As Paper 13 indicates, a centralized government can more effectively deal with matters of fraud related to trade than if each state conducted trade independently. On the other hand, the authors of The Federalist Papers did not foresee the major problems with illegal immigration and other issues that the federal government has little control over.

Paper 30 addresses the purpose of a unified government in securing more effective means of taxation. The authors assert that a strong national government has the power to become more prosperous and therefore more effective. While this is true in theory, the national government of the United States has done little to offer citizens affordable health care or high quality public education. Still, a strong federal government has made the United States tremendously rich and powerful, which were goals as salient in Hamilton, Madison, and Jay's day as in our own.