Federalist No. 1

It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.[1]

Prior to the ratification of the Constitution, the states relied on the Articles of Confederation – a pact established to bind the states together in their fight for independence. However, that early document failed to provide the security necessary to bind the states together for the long-term. In his closing thoughts in this first Federalist Paper, Hamilton called for unity in his plea for the people to support the union despite those loud voices who stood in opposition. He insisted that the Constitution would offer the foundational strength necessary to provide the sound footing for the nation. He noted that his own motives, at least in his own eyes, were honorable as he strictly sought what he believed was the best path forward for the people of the United States. Below are some words from his closing comments as he insisted that failure to ratify would certainly and ultimately result in dissolution of the United States of America.

While the Federalist Papers are admittedly written in rather archaic language that can be challenging to navigate, it is well worth wading through the style in order to appreciate the substance. In these remarks, Hamilton suggests that the decision facing the states in 1787 was of monumental consequence. According to Hamilton’s perspective, this was the moment for which mankind had been waiting. While there had, in the past, been semblances of democracy adopted in certain location (Rome, Athens, etc.), the people of the United States would decide whether a new and unique government could be formed that would serve as a model for humankind. While most of history recorded nations run by monarchs and oligarchs, this would be a representative republic built upon democratic principles. It would be a government that would answer to the people, not vice-versa.

A portion of this paper focuses on warnings about those who will vigorously oppose ratification. Much of that discourse insists that a certain measure of that opposition arises from jealousy and selfish ambitions. This, he says, comes from those from various states whose preference was to have the states remain separate, leaving each state as an independent nation. Their concern was that a strong federal government would invariably threaten state sovereignty. Hamilton, on the other hand, accused such parties of seeking to retain unmitigated authority over their current domains rather than forming a union of the states. He had much to say concerning the opposition, writing:

Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party opposition, and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt to operate as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right side of a question. Were there not even these inducements to moderation, nothing could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at all times, characterized political parties. For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution. And yet, however just these sentiments will be allowed to be, we have already sufficient indications that it will happen in this as in all former cases of great national discussion. A torrent of angry and malignant passions will be let loose. To judge from the conduct of the opposite parties, we shall be led to conclude that they will mutually hope to evince the justness of their opinions, and to increase the number of their converts by the loudness of their declamations and the bitterness of their invectives. An enlightened zeal for the energy and efficiency of government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a temper fond of despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty. An over-scrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which is more commonly the fault of the head than of the heart, will be represented as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for popularity at the expense of the public good.[2]

Federalist No. 1 - General Introduction Written by Alexander Hamilton Independent Journal, October 27th, 1787

This, the first of the Federalist Papers to be published, was penned by Alexander Hamilton and was printed on October 27, 1787. It served as an introduction to the numerous works that would follow. In it, Hamilton sought to explain 1) the incalculable importance of the decision facing the states, 2) the need for the states to ratify the Constitution if they were to form the union for which they had sacrificed so much over the past decade, and 3) the mixed motivations (some honest and some mischievous) of those who had concerns over the content of the Constitution. Still, his most profound argument, it may be said, was that ratification of the Constitution would serve as a test for all mankind, stating:

My arguments will be open to all, and may be judged of by all. They shall at least be offered in a spirit which will not disgrace the cause of truth. I propose, in a series of papers, to discuss the following interesting particulars: — The utility of the UNION to your political prosperity — The insufficiency of the present Confederation to preserve that Union — The necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one proposed, to the attainment of this object — The conformity of the proposed Constitution to the true principles of republican government — Its analogy to your own state constitution — and lastly, The additional security which its adoption will afford to the preservation of that species of government, to liberty, and to property…For nothing can be more evident, to those who are able to take an enlarged view of the subject, than the alternative of an adoption of the new Constitution or a dismemberment of the Union.[3]

[1] Hamilton, Alexander, Federalist No. 1

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

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