One of the few things Americans agree about in 2024 is that our political system is struggling. A Pew Survey last year found that positive views of many governmental and political institutions are at historic lows and that an increasing share of the public dislikes both political parties. From this frustration comes many suggested changes: revising or ending equal state representation in the Senate, creating term limits for the Supreme Court, and abolishing the Electoral College.
Yet the reasons offered for such suggestions would represent a departure from the writings of The Federalist Papers, that collection of 85 essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the shared pseudonym Publius to promote the ratification of our Constitution. Given Americans’ embarrassing ignorance regarding the basics of our government — only 44 percent know the length of a full Senate term, and a third do not know there are three branches of government — perhaps we need to better understand why our government was created the way it is. And what better day than Independence Day to reflect on the relevance of these incredible documents for our constitutional government?
Why The Federalist Papers Still Matter
Those familiar with the musical “Hamilton” will know that the Articles of Confederation, our nation’s first attempt at a national constitution, failed miserably. The federal government was beholden to the states, who could conduct their own foreign policy, print their own money, and were not required to deliver tax revenue to the federal government. Congress
