government and the States. Of this complicated system, the highest achievement of political thinking and constructive statesmanship in the eighteenth century, the Federalist is the classical exposition.

In its origin a campaign document and written as hurriedly as a newspaper leader, the Federalist rose above all other productions of its class then and since because it proceeded from the prolonged studies, matured thought, and ripened experience of two men who, whether viewed as statesmen, or political thinkers, or practical politicians, stood among the very first of their age.

As a citizen of New York, Hamilton realized that the ratification of the Constitution by that state was doubtful in the extreme, and yet, practically indispensable for the successful installation of the new government, and with his accustomed energy he planned in October, 1787, the publication of a series of newspaper essays "addressed to the People of the State of New York." In this project of setting forth the political needs of the country and explaining the new constitution, he enlisted the aid of Madison and Jay.

Jay by his service as Secretary of the United States for foreign affairs was especially qualified to discuss the advantage of a more compact union for the conduct of foreign relations, but he was prevented by a long illness in the early winter from contributing any considerable portion of the series, if it was intended that he should do so. Madison's qualifications for explaining and advocating the new constitution were unsurpassed. Although less brilliant than Hamilton he was a debater of exceptional readiness and power, and his great share in the formation of the Constitution and the perfect familiarity with every objection raised in the Convention, as well as his careful study of the history of federal government, and personal experience of the inefficiency of the Confederation, equipped him with such a combination of resources as were at the command of no one else.

The allotment of work among the three collaborators was designed to utilize to the full their several abilities,

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special knowledge, and political convictions. In accordance with this aim Hamilton, who was disappointed in the work of the Convention but intensely earnest in his desire for a better government, chose for his task the exposition of the needs of the country, while to Madison was assigned the congenial task of expounding the new Constitution. How much in all he would have done had he not felt obliged to go to Virginia early in March, 1788, to take part in the contest in that state over ratification, is, of course, uncertain. As it was, he finished the discussion of the legislative branch of the government. To Hamilton, then, fell the task of explaining the powers of the executive and the functions of the judiciary.

Of the eighty-five essays the authorship of twelve, Nos. 49-58, 62, and 63, has been uncertain and three have been assigned to Hamilton and Madison conjointly. In the case of the latter, Nos. 18, 19, and 20, three historical essays, Madison combined with his own more voluminous matter some notes prepared by Hamilton, so that if Hamilton's slight contribution to their composition is taken into account he should be given second place and the papers ascribed to "Madison and Hamilton," instead of to "Hamilton and Madison," as has commonly been done. In regard to Nos. 49-58, 62, and 63, the present writer believes that he has decided the prolonged controversy over the hopelessly conflicting external evidence by a decisive appeal to the internal evidence. (See "American Historical Review," April 1897, PP. 443-460; and July 1897, pp. 682-687.)

From the first the essays received wide publicity, being extensively reprinted by the press of different States. Publication in book form followed as soon as Hamilton had completed his review of the political needs of the country, and the first thirty-six numbers appeared March 17th, 1778, under the title: "The Federalist: A Collection of Essays written in favor of the new Constitution, as agreed upon by the Federal Convention." The second volume came out May 28th, 1778, and in it the last eight essays first saw the light. Six of them, however,

were reprinted in the New York papers while the New York Convention was in session and the last two a little later.

That "The Federalist" did not receive adequate recognition, at the time of its publication, as a remarkable contribution to political literature has been often asserted, but without good grounds. Undoubtedly some disparaging comments upon it have been unearthed, but its rare quality was promptly recognized by competent judges. A full presentation of the evidence on this point cannot be made here, but the foreign recognition was so significant and interesting that it should no longer be overlooked, as it has been by every editor of "The Federalist" thus far.

On August 26th, 1792, Hamilton and Madison, with fifteen of the most eminent living publicists and philanthropists, for their services to the cause of liberty, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Public Instruction, were granted honorary citizenship by vote of the National Assembly of France. This great distinction, placing two Americans, without much previous literary reputation, upon a level with Jeremy Bentham and Sir James Mackintosh, it would not be easy to account for but for the recent appearance of "The Federalist in French with the first formal announcement of the authors. Two editions were called for in that year when the Girondists were vainly turning toward some kind of a federal system as an escape from the ominous sway exercised over the fortunes of their country by the leaders of the people in Paris. The young Girondist lawyer, C. M. Trudaine de la Safliere, who brought before his impassioned countrymen the calm reasoning of Publius, the cherished friend of Andre and M. J. Chénier, met his death on the scaffold during the Terror. But during the conservative reaction of 1795 these now famous essays were issued in a new edition.

In Germany a leading literary periodical, the "Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung" (Dec. 27th, 1792), in a very intelligent and thorough review of the French translation, declared that there were few books designed for the general public that had so successfully combined profound

reflection with popular exposition, and ranked it among
the most distinguished contributions to political literature.

On at least four other occasions and in three other
countries, when, as in France in 1792, the question of
centralization versus decentralization under a federal con-
stitution has been at issue, "The Federalist" has been en-
listed in the discussion. In the beginning of the
perennial struggle between a unitary and federal consti-
tution in the Argentine in 1818, "The Federalist" was
frequently appealed to, and, finally, in 1868 a Spanish
translation from the English text was published in Buenos
Ayres by the well-known publicist J. M. Cantilo.

The same struggle, which finally reached an acute
stage in Brazil in the attempted revolution of 1842,
gave the occasion for a Portuguese translation from the
French edition of 1795, which was published in Rio de
Janeiro in 1840.

Lastly, in 1864, when the long contest for a real
federal union in Germany was approaching its final stage,
Wilhelm Kiesselbach reviewed for the German people
the history of the formation of the American Union in a
two-volume work entitled "Der Amerikanische Federalist,
Politische Studien für die deutsche Gegenwart" (Bremen,
1864). A large part of the second volume is devoted to
a presentation of the contents of "The Federalist" in a
condensed form.

These incidents in the literary history of "The Federal-
ist," its unique position in our own literature as a contem-
porary interpretation of the Constitution by the two men
pre-eminently concerned in its formation and adoption,
and the unending tale of editions taken up by successive
generations of the American people, more than fulfill
Washington's modest forecast that "The Federalist" would
"merit the notice of posterity," and amply justify its
admission to the select company of the world's classics.

Edward Gaylord Roume