![]() ![]() Federalists, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, took to the newspapers under a pseudonym Publius, to explain the Constitution and advocate its adoption by the states. The supporters of the Constitution took the moniker, “Federalists.” The choice was savvy, as federalism was understood to be in opposition to centralized power. State conventions, not legislatures, met in 1788 for this purpose. On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution, yet ratification by the states was necessary. The framers of the Constitution have in a felicitous turn of phrase, been described as well read, well bred, and well fed. ![]() (Wikimedia Commons) Hamilton wrote the lion's share of the Federalist Papers. Portrait of Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1802. ![]()
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