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Wednesday, December 6, 2017

#74 - The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay



Title:   The Federalist Papers
Authors:  Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
Genre:  Non-Fiction 342.73029
Read by:  Arthur Morey
Originally published:  1787
Publisher/Date:  Tantor Media, Inc./2010
Dates listened to:   11/10/17 – 12/6/17
CDs/Hours:  16/20
ISBN:  978-1-4526-0020-9

Our founding fathers put a lot of time and effort into writing material to be digested by the original thirteen states, among which include the possible attack of foreign countries, taxation, election of a president and state representatives, distinguishing between the terms federal and national, what the grounds for impeachment are.  Each subject is written by one of the three men between October 1787 and May, 1788, for a total of eighty-five essays.  Hamilton was a leading figure at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the first secretary of the treasury of the United States.  James Madison served as secretary of state under Thomas Jefferson and was the fourth president of the US.  John Jay served as minister to Spain and became the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.  Much of what our country aspires to was derived from other countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.  When you consider we took into account what worked for them and what did not, we have done pretty well in how our country is run.

The Federalist Papers serves as the primary source for interpreting the Constitution and outlines the philosophy and motivation behind this newly proposed government system.  Originally published anonymously, The Federalist Papers first appeared in 1787 as a series of letters to New York newspapers exhorting voters to ratify the proposed Constitution of the US.  Still hotly debated, the arguments first presented here were created during a critical moment in our nation’s history.

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