Federalist Item No. 6
The Federalist article no. 6 is the second of Alexander Hamilton , one of the founding fathers of the United States , written essay in a series of 85 essays 1787-88 in the newspapers "Independent Journal" , "New-York Packet" and " Daily Advertiser ” and published collectively under the name Federalist Papers .
Article no. 6 was released on November 14, 1787, entitled "On the threat of war between the states" ( Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States ) in the Independent Journal under the pseudonym " Publius ."
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 .
content
In the three previous Federalist articles ( Nos. 3 , 4 and 5 ) John Jay had already dealt with the external dangers that threaten a divided community. The sixth Federalist article is devoted to the possible threat posed by the internal disunity of the North American countries, which Hamilton sees as even more important than the external threats.
Completely sovereign individual states or individual confederations would soon quarrel among themselves due to the ambitious, vengeful or greedy human nature based on historical experience:
"To expect a continuation of harmony among independent and separate, sovereign states that live in close proximity, would mean ignoring the same course of human history and acting contrary to the experiences accumulated in past ages."
There are innumerable causes of hostilities between individual nations. These included love of power and the desire for superiority and supremacy, trade rivalries and competition between trading nations, and finally human passions such as affection, hostility, interests, hopes and distrust of the leaders of a community. All too often people in leading positions would have abused the trust placed in them and, under the pretext of the general interest, sacrificed the peace in the country for their personal advantages.
Hamilton underpins his argument with examples from the history of ancient Greece, for example with the Peloponnesian War , which ultimately meant the ruin of Attic democracy . From English history he cites the example of Cardinal Wolsey , who used the role of King Henry VIII of England in the battles between Emperor Charles V and Francis I of France to his own advantage. Hamilton assumes that he is familiar with many other historical examples from European history. From the recent North American past, he cites the high private debt of Daniel Shays as the main cause of the peasant uprising in Massachusetts from 1786–87.
Opponents of a union could argue that both republics and merchants are fundamentally peaceful. Therefore, trading republics like the North American states have no interest in exhausting themselves in ruinous disputes with one another. In the interests of lasting peace, guided by common interests, they would adopt an attitude of mutual friendship and unity. Hamilton counters this by stating that current passions and immediate interests guided human action much more than general or distant political considerations. Republics are no less bellicose than monarchies: both are led by people whose dislikes, preferences, rivalries and greed for profit could influence the politics of states as well as those of kings. People's assemblies are often led by anger, resentment, jealousy or greed. In history, trade has also determined war aims rather than prevented wars, with the desire for wealth being just as strong as the addiction for power or fame. Commercial motives would have sparked wars as well as striving to expand territory or rule.
Again, Hamilton cites examples from classical antiquity: Sparta, Athens, Rome and Carthage, although republics and even, as in the case of Athens and Carthage, trading powers, were just as often involved in wars as their neighboring monarchies. The Republic of Venice and the Dutch provinces also played a visible and leading role in the European wars. Although representatives of the people have a say in the legislation of Great Britain and the country has long been a trading nation, hardly any other country has been involved in wars as often as this one. In numerous cases the initiative to war even came from the people.
“So, if I may put it that way, there were almost as many wars of the people as there were wars of kings. The cries of the nations and the urging of their representatives have drawn the respective monarch into a war on various occasions and, contrary to his wishes, sometimes even against the interests of the state, caused him to continue fighting. "
The rivalries between the Houses of Habsburg and Bourbon , fueled by the rivalries between England and France, would have kept Europe aflame for a long time, even beyond the limits of political reason. The wars between England and France were largely the result of economic interests.
From the history of other countries, Hamilton concludes that splitting up the previously existing North American confederation would lead to similar results. America is not free from the imperfections of other nations, the dream of the Golden Age is over, the Confederation is as far removed from that happy realm of perfect wisdom and virtue as any other country on earth. There had already been revolts in North Carolina, recently also in Pennsylvania, and at the time the article was written, riots in Massachusetts. In the development of societies it is a political axiom that neighborhood makes nations natural enemies.
In conclusion, Hamilton quotes from the Principes des négotiations by Gabriel Bonnot de Mably :
"" Neighboring nations (he says) are natural enemies of each other , unless their common weakness compels them to form a federal republic , and their constitution prevents the conflicts that arise from their neighborhood and thus creates secret envy annihilation, which tends all states to increase power and wealth at the expense of their neighbors. "This paragraph names the evil and suggests a cure at the same time ."
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. 24-31 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federalist Article No. 6 in the Library of Congress , accessed February 22, 2017
- ↑ Quoted from Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 24. In the original: “To look for a continuation of harmony between a number of independent, unconnected sovereignties in the same neighborhood, would be to disregard the uniform course of human events, and to set at defiance the accumulated experience of ages. "
- ↑ Quoted from Adams & Adams (2004): The Federalist Articles, pp. 28-29. In the original: “There have been, if I may so express it, almost as many popular as royal wars. The cries of the nation and the importunities of their representatives have, upon various occasions, dragged their monarchs into war, or continued them in it, contrary to their inclinations, and sometimes contrary to the real interests of the State. "
- ↑ Quoted from Adams & Adams (2004): Die Federalist-Artikel, p. 31. In the original: “NEIGHBORING NATIONS (says he) are naturally enemies of each other unless their common weakness forces them to league in a CONFEDERATE REPUBLIC, and their constitution the differences that neighborhood occasions, extinguishing that secret jealousy which disposes all states to aggrandize themselves at the expense of their neighbors. "This passage, at the same time, prevents points out the EVIL and suggests the REMEDY .."