FEDERALIST, THE. A series of essays is sued in 1787 and 1788 in favor of the adop tion of the proposed Federal Constitution for the United States. The Constitutional Con vention at Philadelphia adjourned September 17, 1787; the text of the new Constitution was first published in New York on September 27th; and on October 27th the first number of the Fed eralist appeared in The Independent Journal, a semi-weekly newspaper of New York, the suc cessive essays continuing to appear therein until April 2, 1788. All of the eighty-five es says (the concluding eight of which did not ap pear until the Federalist was printed in book form) were published over the name of 'Pub lius,' but they were composed severally by Alex ander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The authorship of several of the numbers has been the subject of prolonged and inconclusive discussion; but the chief credit for the concep tion of the enterprise and for its execution has at all times been given to Hamilton. In news paper and in pamphlet form the Federalist had a wide circulation, and its influence was con spicuous in turning popular opinion in favor of the Constitution. Especially in New York, to whose inhabitants it was particularly addressed, it was an important factor in the conversion of the State from anti-federalism to federalism. No
contemporary exposition of the text of the Con stitution, of the purposes of its framers, and of its relation to the actual development of the State, was so complete, so scholarly. or so au thoritative as was that in the Federalist. It has, consequently, become recognized, even by the courts, as the most reliable commentary on the Constitution and as an essential aid in the inter pretation of such passages as are of obscure or disputed meaning. Many editions have been pub lished, the latest and most useful (containing for the first time a full index of the essays) is that by Paul L. Ford (New York. 1898). In the edition edited by John C. Hamilton (Phila delphia. 1875) there is an elaborate essay on the authorship of the several papers. The dis cussion is almost as interesting to the antiquary as that concerning the identity of 'Junius.' Use ful editions have also been published by II. C.
Lodge (New York, 1888) and by E. II. Scott ( Chicago, 1895 ) .