Week Two Reboot
Federalist Papers 9, 10, 51, and 78
Hello readers, and welcome new subscribers to our group reading of the United States Constitution and related documents. Thanks for understanding that I fell behind this week. We’ll extend the project by one week, and we can treat this upcoming week like week two all over again!
This week, we dive into more Federalist Papers. The entire study guide is available here. To get caught up with the Federalist Papers and read my notes from Federalist No. 1, “General Introduction,” check out this post.
Week 2: The Federalist Papers
Here is what we’ll read together this week, beginning tomorrow.
Monday, March 1: Federalist Nos. 9 and 10 (factions) and Federalist No. 51 (checks and balances). These papers discuss the separation of powers and the role of government in protecting against factions and insurrections. I added Federalist No. 9 because it lays a foundation that is helpful to understand No. 10
Thursday, March 6: Federalist No. 78 (judicial review). Federalist No. 78 will nicely lead into our topic the following week, the 1803 landmark Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison, which set the precedent for judicial review.
As a reminder, the Federalist Papers are free on several websites, including Project Gutenberg. If you don’t have the time to read the papers beforehand, no problem! I always summarize the paper(s) as part of the post.
My post on Federalist Nos. 9, 10, and 51 will be available tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. EST! Maybe a good read over your morning coffee. And remember, you can join the subscriber chat to introduce yourself, respond to question prompts, or make observations about anything we’re reading! We have a great group here, but please do keep the chat a welcoming and respectful community for a diversity of political alignments and ideologies! We’re here to learn.
