Federalist Paper No

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name Publius. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the authors of the Federalist Papers wanted to influence the vote in favor of ratification of a new Constitution.

The Federalist Papers give us insight into the Constitution and both the enumerated and implied powers set forth within. In this unit’s first study, you were asked to read Federalist No. 10, written by James Madison in 1787. Use this reading to answer the following:

• How did Madison define faction? What did Madison argue was the cure to faction?
• Why did Madison argue for an indirect government versus a direct government?
• Do you think factions exist in our government today? Why or why not?

Note: There are some subjects in political science that have no right or wrong answer. Instead, what is important is how we argue the views we have.

Response Guidelines

Read your fellow learners’ posts, and comment on at least one other post. Your comments can be a specific response to the post, or they can be an attempt to bring information to the discussion about the topic presented. Many topics are controversial and can incite strong feelings. Remember the course netiquette policy in Getting Started as you write your posts.