Critical Skills

This is a project to summarize and articulate in simple terms the 85 essays (known as the “Federalist Papers”) that were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in an effort to convince the people of New York to ratify the recently-drafted Constitution of the United States. This is not a “partisan” project. It is […]

In Federalist #26, The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered, Hamilton continues his defense of the proposed Constitution’s provisions for standing armies in times of peace – consistent with the goal of the new Constitution to achieve a balance between the “energy” of government and the rights of the people. […]

In Federalist Paper #25, The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered, is all about the military – the case for a standing army under the control of the Federal government. Hamilton’s primary goal in this paper is to convince his New York audience of the necessity of granting the national legislature authority to raise and […]

Alexander Hamilton addresses the military issue in Essay #24, The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered. This is the first in a series of papers that seek to address one of the most compelling criticisms of the proposed constitution: that it allowed for the creation of powerful standing armies which would constitute a fundamental threat […]