The Legacy of The Federalist Papers
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By Hillsdale College Online Courses July 18, 2015
No document in our nation’s history can eclipse the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in their importance to the American people. However, as a coherent, concise, and comprehensive explanation of the Constitution, The Federalist Papers is unmatched in the political discourse of the American tradition.
The following video is a clip from Q&A 9 of Hillsdale’s Online Course: “The Federalist Papers,” featuring Will Morrisey, Professor of Politics, and John J. Miller, Director of the Dow Journalism Program.
Transcript:
John J. Miller:
What is [The Federalist Papers] legacy? What are some final thoughts you have on these papers, and their achievement, and what they mean to America?
Will Morrisey:
The Federalist is just an unmatched explanation of what the intentions of the founders were when they designed our Constitution. It's one thing to have the Constitution, but it's another thing entirely to have a rationale, a coherent, well-elaborated argument, really a book from the people who helped to design that document, a book explaining what it's for, giving the reasoning of the delegates of the convention. There's nothing else like it. It's never been superseded, and it probably just can't be. Because here you have people like Hamilton, and Madison, and men of that caliber explaining what the intentions of the framers were in one place, where you can go and read it and study it. It's just not—there's nothing else like it.
