The Federalist Papers
Hamilton, Madison, and Jay argue for the Constitution, 1787–1788
Eighty-five essays published in New York newspapers under the shared pseudonym Publius, arguing for ratification of the proposed Constitution. Ask about faction, federalism, the judiciary, standing armies, or the design of the presidency — answers come only from the essays themselves, each cited by number, with authorship attributed the way the source prints it (including the disputed papers).
For questions it can compute, the answer is calculated from this shelf's records rather than inferred from a sample of passages. Other questions are answered from the passages themselves, quoted and cited.
- Records organized: not yet available
- Names and dates reviewed: ready
- Counts and comparisons: not yet available
- Checked against the records: not yet available
Questions that count, rank or group the essays are declined here rather than estimated from a search.
What these marks mean
A check means ready on this shelf; a cross means not available yet.
Records organized. Each essay separated out with its date and the people in it, so the collection could be counted and filtered rather than only searched.
Names and dates reviewed. A scholar has checked the names, places and dates the computed answers use, and those decisions are on the record.
Counts and comparisons. The desk counts, ranks and combines, and says so when a question asks for more than these records can support.
Checked against the records. Every computation is checked automatically against results taken straight from the collection.
Help improve this shelf. Ask the questions you actually want answered. If an answer is wrong, incomplete, confusing, or unexpectedly useful, say so. What readers ask is what decides which capabilities are built and tested next.
For researchers
“The Federalist Papers”, from the Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Ask the Records (Kevin Hegg, publisher), build 889, accessed 2026-09-15, https://asktherecords.fly.dev/shelves/federalist-papers. Reviewers’ flags are welcome — “Something look wrong?” under any answer — and each travels with the exact answer it concerns.