protobooks

Bernard Bailyn’s The Federalist Papers observes that many generations have believed that the 85 essays written between October 1787 and 1788, which make up the Federalist, are the finest expositions ever on the virtues of a federal system of government. He also notes - in what is the major focus of the brief book - "The Federalist papers are not a theoretical, but a practical, commentary on political power." Thomas Jefferson proclaimed the Federalist papers the best commentary on the history of government, superior to the writings of Aristotle, Machiavelli and Edmund Burke, among other political philosophers.

The Federalist Papers was published by the Library of Congress as part of a series on works that "have mattered to Western citizenship, statecraft and public policy," sponsored by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library, and funded by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.