Federalist Papers Podcast Series

Federalist 85: “The Chimerical Pursuit of a Perfect Plan” | Hamilton’s Conclusion in Support of Ratification of the Constitution

Each of these podcasts has been organized around three big ideas concerning the essay under review – here are three big ideas for Federalist 85.  Big idea one: In Federalist 85, Hamilton defended the Constitution by arguing that its alleged defects could as easily be found in the New York Constitution as the proposed US Constitution.  Big idea two: Hamilton defended the Constitution against charges that it – and its supporters – would be harmful to liberty.  Big idea three: In Federalist 85, Hamilton defended ratification of the Constitution, even if imperfect, by urging the correction of imperfections through the amendment process after ratification.

Federalist 84: “An Injudicious Zeal for Bills of Rights” | Hamilton on the Question of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution

Today, we are talking about Federalist 84. We typically organize our analysis of these essays around three big ideas concerning the essay under review – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 84:  Big idea one: in Federalist 84, Hamilton, responding to concerns about the lack of a bill of rights in the Constitution, denied that the Constitution should be augmented by a bill of rights.  Big idea two: In Federalist 84, Hamilton addressed concerns that the Constitution would vest too much power in the hands of those working in a capital too far from constituents to allow them to understand what happens in government  Big idea three: in Federalist 84, Hamilton denied that fears of increased expense of the new government should be the basis of opposition to ratification of the Constitution.

Federalist 83: “Rules of Commonsense, Adopted by the Courts in the Construction of the Laws” | Hamilton on Juries and on the Interpretation of Law

We typically organize these podcasts around three big ideas from the essay under review – here are three big ideas from Federalist 83.  Big idea one: In Federalist 83, Hamilton described and sought to refute a claim that the Constitution would eliminate trial by jury in civil cases.  Big idea two: Hamilton argued in Federalist 83 that jury trials in civil cases were important for the sake of property, but not necessarily important for the sake of liberty  Big idea three: In Federalist 83 Hamilton offered commentary on the use of juries in specific instances that shed light on more general ideas about juries.

Federalist 82: “Liquidate the Meaning of All the Parts” | Hamilton on the Federal Courts and the State Courts

We begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas from Federalist 82. Big idea one: Hamilton in Federalist 82 described the creation of the USA in terms of a process that would take many discrete governments, and fuse them into a whole.  Big idea two: Hamilton in Federalist 82 invoked the concept of concurrent jurisdiction to describe the relationship between the state courts and the federal courts.  Big idea three: Hamilton in Federalist 82 asserted that judicial appeals should proceed from state courts to federal courts.

Federalist 81: “The Supposed Danger of Judiciary Encroachments” | Hamilton on the Necessity of a Federal Court System

We begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 81:  Big idea one: in federalist 81, Hamilton endorsed the use of one final court of appeal in the USA: the Supreme Court.  Big idea two: Hamilton also defended the creation of lower-level federal courts in Federalist 81  Big idea three: Hamilton in Federalist 81 denied that the appellate process would result in the destruction of the right to trial by jury.