Book Review

The Federalist Papers

Well, I worked hard and bullied my brain into taking in the 85 Federalist Papers over the past few months. I prefer fiction to non, so this was quite an undertaking, but it's a task I strongly recommend to everyone. We weren't taught the Papers in school. If they were even glanced over, I barely remember it. If you think that the country is suffering and on the verge of collapse at this moment and you don't know what you can do except vote, then do the one thing that nobody can do for you - educate yourself.

 The Federalist Papers are a hard read, admittedly. Even if you've been to college. But, they are worth every moment of the time you spend on them. The copy I have even comes with the U.S. Constitution in the back. (You can never have too many copies of that either!) The Papers are enlightening and will make you think very hard about the deformation of our government which is taking place.

 They were originally published in four New York newspapers over the course of a year and were essentially op-ed pieces that rebutted the anti-Federalist propaganda. They are all short, most of them only a few pages long. They are presented in an orderly fashion, moving from one topic to the next concerning a central government and how it is meant to function sometimes in general, sometimes in specific. Hamilton wrote the bulk of them, followed by Madison and only a small contribution was made by Jay; I prefer Madison's papers personally. If you don't have the time to read, I've chosen three that I think are the most important. Federalists 10, 45, and 46 are the one's I've marked as being the most useful in defining the way our country is intended to be governed.

 I would encourage everyone to make an effort to read and understand The Federalist Papers, even if it means running to a dictionary every 10 minutes for you. You can try to be cool and say that you don't get involved in politics, but the fact is, we live politics every day whether we acknowledge it or not.

I'll end my recommendation with some quotes I was writing down as I was studying the Papers. These quotes alone may make you want to read up on your history.

"The fabric of American Empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE" (sic) -Hamilton, letter 22

"If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate a law not obligatory on the Legislative as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty." -Madison, letter 57

"The rights of neutrality will only be respected, when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits the privilege of being neutral." -Hamilton, letter 11

"Let us recollect, that peace or war, will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others." -Hamilton, letter 34

"To judge from the history of mankind, we shall be compelled to conclude, that the fiery and destructive passions of war, reign in the human breast, with much more powerful sway, than the mild and beneficent sentiments of peace; and, that to model our political systems upon speculations of lasting tranquility, is to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character." -Hamilton, letter 34

"A constitution is in fact, and must be, regarded by the judges as a fundamental law." -Hamilton, letter78

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulged, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is to-day can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known and less fixed?" (sic) - Madison, letter 62