Today marks a significant moment in history as New Yorkers opened their morning papers to discover something unusual: an unsigned essay encouraging them to support the newly proposed U.S. Constitution. Published in The Independent Journal on October 27, 1787, the essay was signed simply as “Publius.” This piece would come to be known as Federalist No. 1, the first in a groundbreaking series of arguments that would influence America’s future and political philosophy.

The Constitution Under Fire

At that time, the proposed Constitution, finalized just a month earlier in Philadelphia, faced intense public criticism. Many people feared that it granted the federal government too much power. This apprehension was especially prevalent in New York, where Anti-Federalist writers inundated local newspapers, condemning the new charter.

Enter Alexander Hamilton

While in Albany for court business, Hamilton realized that New York’s ratification of the Constitution was in serious jeopardy. He decided that calm, reasoned argument—not fiery rhetoric—was the best way forward. He proposed a series of essays explaining the Constitution’s principles and countering the growing opposition. He didn’t plan to do it alone.

Hamilton recruited John Jay and James Madison to join him. Jay, then the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was widely respected. Madison, already a key contributor to the Constitution itself, was a brilliant political thinker. Together, they launched a campaign of persuasion under the shared pseudonym “Publius,” a nod to Publius Valerius Publicola, a Roman statesman who helped overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic.

The Power of Federalist No. 1

Federalist No. 1 set the tone. Hamilton wrote passionately about the stakes, describing how Americans were being asked to decide “whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.” In short, can free people create a just government, or are they doomed to chaos?

The essays quickly gained momentum. Over the next seven months, 85 Federalist Papers would be published in New York newspapers, including the Independent Journal, the New-York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser. The writing schedule was intense. Hamilton wrote the majority—at least 51 essays—while Madison authored 29 and Jay wrote five before illness took him out of the project.

These weren’t light readings. The essays tackled complex subjects: federalism, checks and balances, taxation, the judiciary, military defense, and more. Yet they were accessible enough to engage the average voter and persuasive enough to sway key debates in the ratification process.