Abstract

The Federalist Papers, even though written in 1787, are still one of the most referenced works regarding constitutional matters nowadays. The words of Hamilton, Madison and Jay, disguised under the pseudonym of Publius, are widely quoted, unfortunately not always in accordance with the authors’ intentions. This paper aims to: firstly, sketch the historical and political background of the essays to establish their existence as a period piece, and secondly, deconstruct the philosophical basis of the essays and at the same time show how ignoring such a basis can lead to distortion of the arguments originally intended.