(Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay)

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787. New York: Printed and Sold by J[ohn]. and A[ndrew]. M'Lean, 1788



 



2 volumes in one, 12mo (6 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.; 160 x 96 mm). With the initial blank for each volume; lacking gathering O in first vol. (evidently an original omission in this copy), light browning, a few scattered stains. Contemporary New York tree calf, covers with gilt-tooled borders, flat spine gilt in five compartments with red morocco label, marbled endpapers, plain edges; rebacked, corners restored. Brown calf folding-case.

B. McVikar (near-contemporary signature on the title-page) — Raymond V. Shepherd Jr. (bookplate) — Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Bernstein, pp. 239–42; Church 1230; Evans 21127; Grolier/American 19; PMM 234; Sabin 23979; Streeter sale 2:1049

First edition, signed by a member of the McVikar family, who were ardent Federalists and closely associated with Alexander Hamilton. Written as expedient political propoganda for the purpose of supporting New York's ratification of the federal constitution, the essays in The Federalist are now recognized as one of America's most important contributions to political theory and "a classic exposition of the principles of republican government" (Bernstein).

Alexander Hamilton was the principal force behind the entry of "Publius" (the pen name shared by all three authors) into the ratification pamphlet wars, but he enlisted Virginian James Madison and fellow New Yorker John Jay as collaborators. The first thirty-six Federalist papers were collected and published by the M'Lean brothers in March 1788, and the final forty-nine—together with the text of the Constitution and a roster of its signers—followed in a second voume two months later. In fact, the final eight essays were printed in book form before they appeared serially in newspapers.

In 1825 Thomas Jefferson urged the adoption of The Federalist as a required text at the University of Virginia, describing it as "an authority to which appeal is habitually made by all ... as evidence of the general opinion of those who framed, and of those who accepted the Constitution of the United States, on questions as to its genuine meaning." The significance of the work remains unchallenged: constitutional scholar Michael I. Meyerson's recent study notes that "The Federalist not only serves as the single most important resource for interpreting the Constitution, it provides a wise and sophisticated explanation for the uses and abuses of governmental power from Washington to Baghdad" (Liberty's Blueprint: How Madison and Hamilton Wrote the Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution, and Made Democracy Safe for the World, 2008, p. ix).