Federalist No. 1
To the People of the State of New York:
AFTER an unequivocal
experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you
are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States
of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its
consequences nothing less than the existence of the union, the
safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an
empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. 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.
This idea will add the inducements of philanthropy to those of
patriotism, to heighten the solicitude which all considerate and good men
must feel for the event. Happy will it be if our choice should be directed
by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by
considerations not connected with the public good. But this is a thing
more ardently to be wished than seriously to be expected. The plan offered
to our deliberations affects too many particular interests, innovates upon
too many local institutions, not to involve in its discussion a variety of
objects foreign to its merits, and of views, passions and prejudices
little favorable to the discovery of truth.
Among the most formidable of the obstacles which the new Constitution
will have to encounter may readily be distinguished the obvious interest
of a certain class of men in every State to resist all changes which may
hazard a diminution of the power, emolument, and consequence of the
offices they hold under the State establishments; and the perverted
ambition of another class of men, who will either hope to aggrandize
themselves by the confusions of their country, or will flatter themselves
with fairer prospects of elevation from the subdivision of the empire into
several partial confederacies than from its union under one government.
It is not, however, my design to dwell upon observations of this
nature. I am well aware that it would be disingenuous to resolve
indiscriminately the opposition of any set of men (merely because their
situations might subject them to suspicion) into interested or ambitious
views. Candor will oblige us to admit that even such men may be actuated
by upright intentions; and it cannot be doubted that much of the
opposition which has made its appearance, or may hereafter make its
appearance, will spring from sources, blameless at least, if not
respectable--the honest errors of minds led astray by preconceived
jealousies and fears. So numerous indeed and so powerful are the causes
which serve to give a false bias to the judgment, that we, upon many
occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong as well as on the right side
of questions of the first magnitude to society. This circumstance, if duly
attended to, would furnish a lesson of moderation to those who are ever so
much persuaded of their being in the right in any controversy. And a
further reason for caution, in this respect, might be drawn from the
reflection that we are not always sure that those who advocate the truth
are influenced by purer principles than their antagonists. 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. It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that
jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that the noble enthusiasm
of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal
distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor
of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the
contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can
never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind
the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the
forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of
government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much
more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and
that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the
greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to
the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.
In the course of the preceding observations, I have had an eye, my
fellow-citizens, to putting you upon your guard against all attempts, from
whatever quarter, to influence your decision in a matter of the utmost
moment to your welfare, by any impressions other than those which may
result from the evidence of truth. You will, no doubt, at the same time,
have collected from the general scope of them, that they proceed from a
source not unfriendly to the new Constitution. Yes, my countrymen, I own
to you that, after having given it an attentive consideration, I am
clearly of opinion it is your interest to adopt it. I am convinced that
this is the safest course for your liberty, your dignity, and your
happiness. I affect not reserves which I do not feel. I will not amuse you
with an appearance of deliberation when I have decided. I frankly
acknowledge to you my convictions, and I will freely lay before you the
reasons on which they are founded. The consciousness of good intentions
disdains ambiguity. I shall not, however, multiply professions on this
head. My motives must remain in the depository of my own breast. 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.
In the progress of this discussion I shall endeavor to give a
satisfactory answer to all the objections which shall have made their
appearance, that may seem to have any claim to your attention.
It may perhaps be thought superfluous to offer arguments to prove the
utility of the UNION, a point, no doubt, deeply engraved on the hearts of
the great body of the people in every State, and one, which it may be
imagined, has no adversaries. But the fact is, that we already hear it
whispered in the private circles of those who oppose the new Constitution,
that the thirteen States are of too great extent for any general system,
and that we must of necessity resort to separate confederacies of distinct
portions of the whole. This doctrine will, in all probability, be gradually
propagated, till it has votaries enough to countenance an open avowal of
it. 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. It will therefore be of
use to begin by examining the advantages of that Union, the certain evils,
and the probable dangers, to which every State will be exposed from its
dissolution. This shall accordingly constitute the subject of my next
address.
Publius.
Federalist No. 2
To the People of the State of New York:
WHEN the people of America
reflect that they are now called upon to decide a question, which, in its
consequences, must prove one of the most important that ever engaged their
attention, the propriety of their taking a very comprehensive, as well as
a very serious, view of it, will be evident.
Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government,
and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted,
the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest
it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore,
whether it would conduce more to the interest of the people of America
that they should, to all general purposes, be one nation, under one
federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate
confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which
they are advised to place in one national government.
It has until lately been a received and uncontradicted opinion that the
prosperity of the people of America depended on their continuing firmly
united, and the wishes, prayers, and efforts of our best and wisest
citizens have been constantly directed to that object. But politicians now
appear, who insist that this opinion is erroneous, and that instead of
looking for safety and happiness in union, we ought to seek it in a
division of the States into distinct confederacies or sovereignties.
However extraordinary this new doctrine may appear, it nevertheless has
its advocates; and certain characters who were much opposed to it
formerly, are at present of the number. Whatever may be the arguments or
inducements which have wrought this change in the sentiments and
declarations of these gentlemen, it certainly would not be wise in the
people at large to adopt these new political tenets without being fully
convinced that they are founded in truth and sound policy.
It has often given me pleasure to observe that independent America was
not composed of detached and distant territories, but that one connected,
fertile, widespreading country was the portion of our western sons of
liberty. Providence has in a particular manner blessed it with a variety
of soils and productions, and watered it with innumerable streams, for the
delight and accommodation of its inhabitants. A succession of navigable
waters forms a kind of chain round its borders, as if to bind it together;
while the most noble rivers in the world, running at convenient distances,
present them with highways for the easy communication of friendly aids,
and the mutual transportation and exchange of their various commodities.
With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has
been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people--a
people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language,
professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of
government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their
joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long
and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.
This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and
it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so
proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the
strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous,
and alien sovereignties.
Similar sentiments have hitherto prevailed among all orders and
denominations of men among us. To all general purposes we have uniformly
been one people each individual citizen everywhere enjoying the same
national rights, privileges, and protection. As a nation we have made
peace and war; as a nation we have vanquished our common enemies; as a
nation we have formed alliances, and made treaties, and entered into
various compacts and conventions with foreign states.
A strong sense of the value and blessings of union induced the people,
at a very early period, to institute a federal government to preserve and
perpetuate it. They formed it almost as soon as they had a political
existence; nay, at a time when their habitations were in flames, when many
of their citizens were bleeding, and when the progress of hostility and
desolation left little room for those calm and mature inquiries and
reflections which must ever precede the formation of a wise and
wellbalanced government for a free people. It is not to be wondered at,
that a government instituted in times so inauspicious, should on
experiment be found greatly deficient and inadequate to the purpose it was
intended to answer.
This intelligent people perceived and regretted these defects. Still
continuing no less attached to union than enamored of liberty, they
observed the danger which immediately threatened the former and more
remotely the latter; and being persuaded that ample security for both
could only be found in a national government more wisely framed, they as
with one voice, convened the late convention at Philadelphia, to take that
important subject under consideration.
This convention composed of men who possessed the confidence of the
people, and many of whom had become highly distinguished by their
patriotism, virtue and wisdom, in times which tried the minds and hearts
of men, undertook the arduous task. In the mild season of peace, with
minds unoccupied by other subjects, they passed many months in cool,
uninterrupted, and daily consultation; and finally, without having been
awed by power, or influenced by any passions except love for their
country, they presented and recommended to the people the plan produced by
their joint and very unanimous councils.
Admit, for so is the fact, that this plan is only recommended,
not imposed, yet let it be remembered that it is neither recommended to
blind approbation, nor to blind reprobation; but to that
sedate and candid consideration which the magnitude and importance of the
subject demand, and which it certainly ought to receive. But this (as was
remarked in the foregoing number of this paper) is more to be wished than
expected, that it may be so considered and examined. Experience on a
former occasion teaches us not to be too sanguine in such hopes. It is not
yet forgotten that well-grounded apprehensions of imminent danger induced
the people of America to form the memorable Congress of 1774. That body
recommended certain measures to their constituents, and the event proved
their wisdom; yet it is fresh in our memories how soon the press began to
teem with pamphlets and weekly papers against those very measures. Not
only many of the officers of government, who obeyed the dictates of
personal interest, but others, from a mistaken estimate of consequences,
or the undue influence of former attachments, or whose ambition aimed at
objects which did not correspond with the public good, were indefatigable
in their efforts to pursuade the people to reject the advice of that
patriotic Congress. Many, indeed, were deceived and deluded, but the great
majority of the people reasoned and decided judiciously; and happy they
are in reflecting that they did so.
They considered that the Congress was composed of many wise and
experienced men. That, being convened from different parts of the country,
they brought with them and communicated to each other a variety of useful
information. That, in the course of the time they passed together in
inquiring into and discussing the true interests of their country, they
must have acquired very accurate knowledge on that head. That they were
individually interested in the public liberty and prosperity, and
therefore that it was not less their inclination than their duty to
recommend only such measures as, after the most mature deliberation, they
really thought prudent and advisable.
These and similar considerations then induced the people to rely
greatly on the judgment and integrity of the Congress; and they took their
advice, notwithstanding the various arts and endeavors used to deter them
from it. But if the people at large had reason to confide in the men of
that Congress, few of whom had been fully tried or generally known, still
greater reason have they now to respect the judgment and advice of the
convention, for it is well known that some of the most distinguished
members of that Congress, who have been since tried and justly approved
for patriotism and abilities, and who have grown old in acquiring
political information, were also members of this convention, and carried
into it their accumulated knowledge and experience.
It is worthy of remark that not only the first, but every succeeding
Congress, as well as the late convention, have invariably joined with the
people in thinking that the prosperity of America depended on its Union.
To preserve and perpetuate it was the great object of the people in
forming that convention, and it is also the great object of the plan which
the convention has advised them to adopt. With what propriety, therefore,
or for what good purposes, are attempts at this particular period made by
some men to depreciate the importance of the Union? Or why is it suggested
that three or four confederacies would be better than one? I am persuaded
in my own mind that the people have always thought right on this subject,
and that their universal and uniform attachment to the cause of the Union
rests on great and weighty reasons, which I shall endeavor to develop and
explain in some ensuing papers. They who promote the idea of substituting
a number of distinct confederacies in the room of the plan of the
convention, seem clearly to foresee that the rejection of it would put the
continuance of the Union in the utmost jeopardy. That certainly would be
the case, and I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every
good citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America
will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: "Farewell! A long
farewell to all my greatness."
Publius.