The Federalist Papers and the United States Constitution
Hey all,
I am pleased to announce the second presentation in our civics series: The Federalist Papers and the United States Constitution.
By 1787, it had become apparent that the country could not survive under the Articles of Confederation. There was no chief executive or judiciary, and the Continental Congress could not levy taxes or regulate commerce. The states and the federal government were deeply in debt. And Shays Rebellion in Massachusetts continued for a period of months before the state militia could suppress it. As a result, delegates from the thirteen original states convened in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 in order to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead, this Constitutional Convention ended up replacing the Articles with the United States Constitution.
Before the Constitution could become law, however, it had to be ratified by the individual states. It was for this purpose that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the federalist papers, a series of 85 essays advocating for the ratification of the United States Constitution. They were published serially in several New York newspapers under the pseudonym “Publius” over a period of about nine months.
Although it is unclear how much effect these papers had on ratification, they are of incalculable value in understanding the thinking of our founders on the Constitution, from separation of powers and checks and balances to federalism and judicial review. These papers also discuss such timeless issues as the nature of self-government, the importance of Union, and the dangers of demagoguery, topics of particular importance today.
My presentation will discuss all of this and more! My overall objective is to use the federalist papers and the words of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to help us understand our system of government and Constitution.
An hour or so will be dedicated to the presentation. And then I’ll open it up for questions and a conversation.
Hope many of you can make it on the 20th of February. If you can’t, please email me. I will try and schedule another presentation for those who cannot make this one.
Best,
Danny
Meeting
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
7:30 PM to 10:30 PM
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Tuttles Bar & Grill
735 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
To view the Meetup page for this event, click here.