Skip to main content.

The Federalist Papers (version 2)

Gelesen von Mark F. Smith

(4,885 Sterne; 13 Bewertungen)

“The Federalist Papers” are a collection of 85 linked essays that explain the construction of the U.S. government and why it was built that way. The Papers are regarded as the best pipeline into understanding the U.S. Constitution and the founding principles of the government it would establish.

I have endeavored here to present these essays, not as articles in a newspaper, but as you might have experienced them if you had sat in a comfortable tavern with a tankard in hand, and listened while these ardent men ranged in front of a friendly fireplace as they attempted to convince you of their arguments.

Following the Revolutionary War, the newly-independent United States of America were organized under the Articles of Confederation. This well-intentioned document was faulty to the purpose, and the new nation rapidly found itself in dire financial distress.

Consequently, in 1787 a Constitutional Convention was called to produce a new blueprint for the government. After completion, that plan was sent to the States in September of that year for ratification, but it immediately came under fire for the powers it granted to the central government.

In New York, views on either side were heated. To persuade the public to support the Constitution for ratification, Alexander Hamilton (who had been a delegate to the Convention) and John Jay (who had helped negotiate the treaty with Great Britain that ended the War), began a series of anonymous essays to educate the citizenry in how the government would be arranged, and why those choices had been made. Later, when Jay was rendered unable to continue by an attack of rheumatism, Virginian James Madison (another Convention delegate who was in New York, serving in the Confederation Congress) was recruited to fill in.

Each wrote essays that were signed “Publius,” the name of a general who had helped to found Rome, to conceal their identities, which might have led to difficulties as Hamilton and Madison had been inside the deliberations at the Convention. These essays were published serially in New York newspapers, eventually reaching the total of 85.
(Summary by Mark Smith) (23 hr 40 min)

Chapters

General Introduction

12:34

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence

14:25

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

12:35

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

13:32

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

11:30

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning Dangers From Dissensions Between the States

17:16

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

17:32

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Consequences of Hostilities Between the States

15:36

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection

15:38

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

23:30

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Utility of a Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy

19:02

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Utility of a Union in Respect to Revenue

16:29

Read by Mark F. Smith

Advantage of a Union in Respect to Economy in Government

7:41

Read by Mark F. Smith

Objections to the Proposed Constitution From Extent of Territory Answered

15:55

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Insufficiency of the Present Confederacy to Preserve the Union

22:34

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

15:29

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

12:25

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

16:52

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

16:12

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

12:42

Read by Mark F. Smith

Other Defects of t he Present Confederation

15:21

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

25:23

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservat…

13:44

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered

14:03

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

15:02

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Respect to the Common Defe…

17:51

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

11:07

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

12:18

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning the Militia

16:32

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning the General Power of Taxation

14:45

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

13:10

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

11:37

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

13:20

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

16:17

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

16:37

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

19:52

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising the Proper Form of Go…

21:56

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Pl…

24:57

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles

19:18

Read by Mark F. Smith

On the Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government, Examined and Susta…

23:18

Read by Mark F. Smith

General View of the Powers Conferred By the Constitution

26:40

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered

20:35

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

25:28

Read by Mark F. Smith

Restrictions on the Authorities of the Several States

21:52

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments

16:07

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared

18:56

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Am…

20:45

Read by Mark F. Smith

These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated As To Have No Constitutional C…

14:42

Read by Mark F. Smith

Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department By Appealing…

12:37

Read by Mark F. Smith

Periodical Appeals to the People Considered

9:12

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Bet…

14:46

Read by Mark F. Smith

The House of Representatives

13:44

Read by Mark F. Smith

The House of Representatives, Continued

16:43

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Apportionment of Members Among the States

15:24

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Total Number of the House of Representatives

15:18

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Total Number of the House of Representatives, continued

11:52

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Alleged Tendency of the New Plan to Elevate the Few at the Expense of the M…

16:25

Read by Mark F. Smith

Objection That the Number of Members Will Not Be Augmented as the Progress of P…

15:46

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members

13:57

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

16:13

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued

11:16

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Senate

17:35

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Senate Continued

22:45

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Powers of the Senate

17:57

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Powers of the Senate Continued

14:35

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Power of the Senate to Set as a Court for Impeachments Further Considered

16:08

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Executive Department

13:00

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Mode of Electing the President

11:10

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Real Character of the Executive

19:12

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Executive Department Further Considered

22:39

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Duration in Office of the Executive

12:27

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Same Subject Continued, and the Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered

15:05

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Provision for the Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power

16:51

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Ex…

7:42

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Treaty-Making Power of the Executive

14:16

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Appointing Power of the Executive

14:08

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered

14:25

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Department

21:48

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Continued

7:57

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Powers of the Judiciary

18:31

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority

27:04

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Continued

11:28

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial By Jury

22:36

Read by Mark F. Smith

The Judiciary Continued in Relation to Trial By Jury

19:19

Read by Mark F. Smith

Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and…

28:17

Read by Mark F. Smith

Concluding Remarks

19:33

Read by Mark F. Smith

Bewertungen

(5 Sterne)

Wow Ray must not have seen the play.