Federalist Item No. 2

John Jay, author of Federalist Article No. 2

The Federalist articles no. 2 is an essay by John Jay , one of the founding fathers of the United States . The publication is the second in a series of 85 articles that appeared in the Independent Journal , New-York Packet and Daily Advertiser from 1787-88 , and which have become known as the Federalist Papers . Article No. 2 was published on October 31, 1787 under the title " Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence " in the Independent Journal under the pseudonym" Publius " published.

In his first of a total of four contributions to the Federalist Papers , Jay devotes himself entirely to the advantages of the unified sovereignty of a state over individual governments in a confederation . He states that the geographical unit of the country and the unity of the population suggest a unified government, while a division into individual sovereign states would jeopardize the continued existence of the Union.

Historical background

The 1777 adopted Confederation ( Articles of Confederation ) of the United States had proved a few years after its ratification in 1781 as insufficient to ensure an efficient government of the State Union. In 1787 the Philadelphia Convention was convened to revise the articles, but as a result drafted a new constitution . In September 1787 the draft was passed on to constitutional conventions in the individual states for ratification. From September 1787 the opponents of the federation ("anti-federalists") agitated in newspaper articles against the ratification of the draft constitution. On the Republican side, these were countered by the essays by Alexander Hamilton , James Madison and John Jay.

argumentation

Jay opens his article by saying that his reasoning is aimed at those who believe that a division of the United States is more useful than its unity. He wanted to counter them that a country must be governed with the help of a strong political system:

“Nothing is as certain as the absolute necessity of government; it is equally indisputable that wherever and however it is established, the people must relinquish some of their natural rights in order to endow them with the necessary powers. It is therefore worth considering whether it is more in the interests of the people of America to form a nation with a federal government for all general tasks, or to split up into separate confederations, which give their respective heads the same powers as they are under this proposal should be transferred to the federal government at national level. "

Jay argues with the geographical unity of the country and its communication, mutual aid and trade routes that are favorable to trade. He also describes the country's population as similarly uniform, who have achieved the country's independence through joint efforts.

"This country and this people seem made for one another, and it seems almost as a providential plan that an inheritance that is so right and fitting for a group of brethren united by the strongest bonds should never be divided into a multitude of egotistical, jealous and alien sovereign powers are to be divided. "

The Articles of Confederation were written during the troubled times of the American War of Independence. Its suitability as a constitution had not been confirmed when it was tested, so that politically experienced, wise men from all states came together in the Philadelphia Convention in order to calmly discuss necessary improvements in more peaceful times. If in the past the people had trusted the judgment of the largely unknown authors of the articles of confederation, there was now much more reason to trust the authors of the proposed constitution. Both the authors of the articles of confederation and those of the new draft constitution were guided by the conviction that the well-being of America depended on its unity.

"Those who propose a number of separate confederations instead of the draft Constitutional Convention seem to foresee that the rejection of this draft would endanger the very existence of the Union."

literature

Angela and Willi Paul Adams: Hamilton / Madison / Jay: The Federalist Articles: Political Theory and Constitutional Commentary by the American Founding Fathers. With the English and German text of the US Constitution . Schöningh, Paderborn 2004, ISBN 978-3-8252-1788-4 , pp. 5-10 .

Web links

Federalist Article No. 2 as an audio book

Wikisource: Federalist No. 2 - Sources and full texts (English)

Federalist Article No. 2 in the Library of Congress , accessed February 16, 2017

Individual evidence

↑ Federalist Article No. 2 in the Library of Congress , accessed February 16, 2017
↑ Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, pp. 5-6: “Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest of the people of America that they should, for all general purposes, be one nation, under one federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national government. "
↑ Quoted from: Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 7. In the original: “This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties. "
↑ Quoted from: Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 10. In the original: “They who promote the idea of substituting a number of distinct confederacies in the room of the plan of the convention, seem clearly to foresee that the rejection of it would put the continuance of the Union in the utmost jeopardy. "

[1] Federalist Article No. 2 in the Library of Congress , accessed February 16, 2017

[2] Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, pp. 5-6: “Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers. It is well worthy of consideration therefore, whether it would conduce more to the interest of the people of America that they should, for all general purposes, be one nation, under one federal government, or that they should divide themselves into separate confederacies, and give to the head of each the same kind of powers which they are advised to place in one national government. "

[3] Quoted from: Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 7. In the original: “This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties. "

[4] Quoted from: Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 10. In the original: “They who promote the idea of substituting a number of distinct confederacies in the room of the plan of the convention, seem clearly to foresee that the rejection of it would put the continuance of the Union in the utmost jeopardy. "