Name: What Alexander Hamilton warned in the Federalist Papers
Uploaded: 2025-10-28T02:26:22.063Z
Duration: 2 min 18 s
Description: Nearly two and a half centuries ago, Alexander Hamilton authored the first of the Federalist Papers. His appeal was not just for a Constitution, but for the character needed to live under one.

Nearly two and a half centuries ago, Alexander Hamilton authored the first of the Federalist Papers. His appeal was not just for a Constitution, but for the character needed to live under one.

Washington

The Federalist Papers, first published in 1787, played a crucial role in advocating for the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, writing under a pseudonym, authored Federalist No. 1 to persuade Americans to support a stronger federal government. In his writing, Hamilton warned against the dangers of political passions, intolerance, and the temptation to persecute opponents. He emphasized that moderation and humility are virtues in political debate, and cautioned that those who claim to champion the people's rights may actually be seeking power for themselves. Hamilton's insights into the nature of political discourse and the risks of demagoguery remain relevant, as the principles he advocated continue to underpin the structure of American government.

What Alexander Hamilton warned in the Federalist Papers

On this day in 1787, New Yorkers walking the narrow, noisy streets in a city still recovering from war would have been able to buy a newspaper with the first of the Federalist Papers in it. The Federalist Papers would become one of the most important collections of writing in the country's history. It sought to rescue the experiment in self-government bogged down by a weak Congress and economic distress. Alexander Hamilton was the author of Federalist No. 1, writing under an assumed name. He set out to persuade Americans to support the replacement form of government, the Constitution. What faith in the public, in its ability to discern. Federalist No. 1 is a manual for argument in a republic. Hamilton saw what passions the debate would unleash, ambition, pride, and fear masquerading as principle. He warned against that intolerant spirit which has, at all times, characterized political parties. Insisting that heresies in either religion or politics can rarely be cured by persecution. In other words, winning by bullying would not create a stable result. Opponents of the Constitution might be wrong, he counseled, but they weren't villains. Wise and good men, he wrote, are found on the wrong as well as on the right side of questions. Moderation, he suggested, is not weakness but humility. He also warned rhetoric can disguise motive. Those courting the rights of the people might, in fact, be courting power. History, Hamilton observed, showed 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. Two centuries later, the structure Hamilton argued for still stands. The habits of mind he modeled, patience, fairness, and the courage to see opponents as human have sustained it. His appeal was not just for a Constitution but for the character needed to live under

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