On October 27, 1787, the first of 85 essays that would come to known as the Federalist Papers was published in a New York newspaper called The Independent Journal. Using the pen-name “Publius,” Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers to gain support for the ratification of the Constitution, which had been signed the month before on September 17, 1787.
Read the Federalist Papers at the Library of Congress.
