ИПИ Библиотека

The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, brilliantly defend what was in their day a revolutionary charter—the Constitution of the United States. The Federalist Papers explain the complexities of a constitutional government—its political structure and principles based on the inherent rights of man. Scholars have long regarded this work as a milestone in political science and a classic of American political theory.
The Mentor Federalist Papers is based on the original McLean edition of 1788. Edited by noted historian Clinton Rossiter, this special edition includes:
•brand-new material by Charles R. Kesler—a new introduction with textual notes and a select bibliography
•a table of contents with a brief precis of each essay
•an appendix containing a copy of the Constitution with cross-references to The Federalist Papers
•an Index of Ideas that lists the major political concepts discussed
•copies of The Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation

Concerning the General Power of Taxation
New York Packet, Friday, December 28, 1787, [Alexander Hamilton]

To the People of the State of New York:
IT HAS been already observed that the federal government ought to possess the power of providing for the support of the national forces; in which proposition was intended to be included the expense of raising troops, of building and equipping fleets, and all other expenses in any wise connected with military arrangements and operations. But these are not the only objects to which the jurisdiction of the Union, in respect to revenue, must necessarily be empowered to extend. It must embrace a provision for the support of the national civil list; for the payment of the national debts contracted, or that may be contracted; and, in general, for all those matters which will call for disbursements out of the national treasury. The conclusion is, that there must be interwoven, in the frame of the government, a general power of taxation, in one shape or another.

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American politician, statesman, writer, lawyer, and soldier. One of the United States' most prominent and brilliant early constitutional lawyers, he was an influential delegate to the United States Constitutional Convention and one of the principal authors of the Federalist Papers, which expounded and urged the ratification of the U.S. Constitution to skeptical New Yorkers. The Federalist Papers—and Hamilton's contributions to them—remain today a standard source on the original intent of the document.

James Madison

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was one of the principal framers of the U.S. Constitution, a Virginia representative to Congress, secretary of state in the administration of Thomas Jefferson, and fourth president of the United States. Sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, Madison played a leading role as an organizer, delegate, and chronicler of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He was an influential advocate for the adoption of the Constitution by the states and the most forceful proponent of including a Bill of Rights in the new federal charter. Madison, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, authored the Federalist Papers (1788), a series of eighty-five essays on government that defended the proposed Constitution based on political theory, historical precedent, and specific factors relating to the newly independent United States.

John Jay

John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, and jurist, best known as the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States, Jay served in the Continental Congress and was elected president of that body in 1778. During and after the American Revolution, he was the ambassador to Spain and France, helping to fashion American foreign policy and to secure favorable peace terms from the British and French. He co-wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.

Jay served on the U.S. Supreme Court as the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795. In 1794, he negotiated the Jay Treaty with the British.

A leader of the new Federalist Party, Jay was elected Governor of New York from 1795-1801. He was a leading opponent of slavery and the slave trade in New York. A deeply religious man, in later life he served as president of the American Bible Society.