A reader's companion
The essential essays
The Most Important Federalist Papers
Scholars argue over the ranking, but a few essays turn up on nearly every list. Here they are.
There is no official ranking of the Federalist Papers, but read enough of them and the same handful keep coming up — the essays where Publius states an idea so clearly that we still quote it.
These nine are a good core. Together they cover the stakes of the project, faction, the shape of the union, the presidency, the courts, and the argument over rights. Read them and you have the spine of the whole series.
Federalist No. 1: Reflection and Choice
Hamilton opens the whole project and sets the stakes: can a people choose good government by reflection, or only stumble into it by accident and force? Start at the beginning.
Federalist No. 10: Faction and the Large Republic
Madison on faction: why a large republic contains it better than a small one. The most cited of them all.
Federalist No. 51: Checks and Balances
Checks and balances in one essay. "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
Federalist No. 39: Republican, Federal, and National
Madison's clean definition of what the new government actually is — part federal, part national.
Federalist No. 45: Federal Powers Few and Defined
Federal powers "few and defined," state powers "numerous and indefinite." The classic statement on federalism.
Federalist No. 68: Electing the President
Hamilton on electing a president, and guarding the choice against demagogues and foreign influence.
Federalist No. 70: Energy in the Executive
"Energy in the executive." Why one president, and how accountability follows from it.
Federalist No. 78: The Judiciary and Judicial Review
Hamilton on the judiciary, life tenure, and judicial review — the "least dangerous" branch.
Federalist No. 84: Why No Bill of Rights
Hamilton argues against a Bill of Rights. He lost, but the reasoning is worth knowing.