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1

The series of essays known as The Federalist Papers was published anonymously, over the pen name Publius. In fact, they were the work of three men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist No. 1, written by Hamilton, summarizes the purposes of the papers to come. How does this excerpt reflect not only what the Federalists wanted to promote, but also how they wanted to head off objections to the Constitution that were already beginning to surface? From your readings in the text, what were these objections?

The Federalist Papers

2

The document to be studied is the Constitution of the United States and its first twelve amendments. First, read the Constitution in the Appendices to your text; then, consider the following.

Constitution Questions

3

Once the Constitution was ratified, the debate over the Bank of the United States moved to center stage, and some historians have suggested that it was this issue that divided the Jeffersonians and the Hamiltonians into "parties." Below is an excerpt from Alexander Hamilton's view on the constitutionality of the Bank.

Alexander Hamilton

Here is Thomas Jefferson's opinion of the constitutionality of the Bank. On what did Hamilton and Jefferson differ? Was there room for compromise? What interests in the nation supported each side? What does this suggest about the supporters of the two emerging political parties?

Thomas Jefferson






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