American Literature

The struggles by the government to convince the public to accept a strong but centralized form of government led to the publishing of federalist essays. The interpretation of the American constitution is mainly based on the provisions of the federalist papers. Written in the late eighteenth century, the papers are mainly a philosophical expression of the ideas and implication of the American constitution. The sole aim the federalist papers were not only to realize ratification but more so to form the bases for the future interpretations and thus understanding of the constitution. It is to be noted clearly that our current American constitution is the same as that which was proposed during the writing of this federalist essays. This is why the knowledge of these essays is quite crucial in our understanding of the constitution (DeKoster, 12). It is owing to the integrity and wisdom found in these papers that many have praised and honored their writers terming them as true patriots of the American nation. It is by this great works that James Madison, one of the writers of the essays has been given credit for being the father of the American constitution. In fact, it is a common claim that none of the modern writers have ever given such a deep understanding of the constitution as found in the federalist papers.
This essay is a discussion of the federalist papers and their implication in the process of interpreting the American constitution. The author also talks about the authors of the federalist papers and the roles they played both in the making and understanding of the American constitution.
First is a discussion of the authors of the federalist essays. The writing of the federalist has been termed to have been a secretive work by the writers. It has however been evidently claimed that such works were done by three different authors namely Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. It has also been established that some of the articles were the collaboration works of Madison and Hamilton (Cooke, Jacob, 14). Alexander Hamilton is claimed to have written 51 articles among the 85 articles making him the major contributor to the federalist philosophy.  Historical information has shown that Hamilton was a major proponent for the actualization of a national constitutional reform in the American nation. This is evidently supported by the fact that he was a representative during the constitutional conventions meetings of 1780s. He was later in 1789 appointed as a security to the treasury, the first kind of this nature in the history of the America (Wootten, 15).
Madison on the other side was a respected member of the House of Representatives in America and later a secretary of the state. He personally wrote 29 of the federalist essay. It is to be recognized here that Madison later became the fourth president of the United States of America. It is most probably owing to his great political influence in the implementation of the new constitution that he has commonly been referred to as the father of the American constitution. John Jay, who wrote 5 articles of the federalist, was formerly the secretary of foreign affairs before he was elevated to become the first ever chief justices of the America government in 1789 (Yale Law Journal, 2009). It is however to be noted that he later in 1795 resigned to become the governor of the New York state. It is to be noted that this entire writers were secretaries. This could be the reason for their greatly influential writing works.  They were also strong and influential members in the American government, a factor which could have led to great appreciation of their philosophical work ( HYPERLINK httpwww.constitution.orgfedfedera00.htm httpwww.constitution.orgfedfedera00.htm).
Second is a critical analysis of some important aspects of the federalist papers. It is evidently clear that the federalist papers were written as a tool for pursing for the acceptance of the new proposed constitution for the independent American nation. It is owing to this reason that all the essays are driven to explain how such a new constitution could be effectively interpreted to meet the common good expectations of the nation (Hall, 547). The papers clearly identifies that the acceptance of the new constitution will be a great step towards the acceptance of the existence of the union which is highly respective of the components which form it. The federalist papers also question the usefulness of having a government that is not centralized for the purposes of improving its unified coordination particularly on matters of national importance. It has also be evident from the federalist papers the intent of having a constitution is to realize a harmonious coexistence of the different individuals who form the nation society.
The aspect of protecting not only the constitution but also the political wisdom of the American nation is another aspect defined in the federalist that has received much appreciation in the American nation. The actual reason behind having a law is to ensure that it protects the concerned members from the ill-intents of others in the society. It is found in the federalist that the greatest achievement of any good government is the ability to control andor combat any form of violence among its members (Millican, 15). It is also clearly established that the resolution of such violations in the society should not at any time break the principles that define them, the constitution. These philosophical expressions are greatly reflective of the fact that the constitution is the most important element of any nation. It should thus always act as a guide to the daily involvements of the government. This is why acts of violations of constitutional provisions are regarded as a crime against the nation. It is due to this that the federalist papers are seen as a great resource for protecting our constitutional and political involvements (Hamilton, Jay, 26).
The federalist papers are reflective of the need to be concerned about other nations and their ways of governance. It is for the protection of the constitutional provision for our nations sovereignty and the aspect of the government as the sole provider of security to its citizens that a nation should fight another nation. Such is the provision of the constitution which protects Americans acts of war intervention in other nations. It is evidently clear from statistical information that America has always quoted either threats to its citizens security or poor governance in governments as the reasons behind such intervention (Wootteon, 29). By acting in such a manner, they uphold and respect the rights of humanity as provided for in the constitution. Another aspect which is quite clear in the federalist essay on security is they emphasis on the union as a collection of individuals whose rights and position in the governance structures should be given the utmost respect. It is the people who make nation not the nation which make the people.
It should also be noted that it was by the understanding of these federalist philosophies that the American nation went on with its mission of expanding its territorial base across the globe. This is first evident in its earlier acquisition of new states like Hawaii among other. Most of the member states of the United States of America became member through the constitutional understanding of the expansion as a physical act (Quinn, 123). It is also here to be noted that the aspect of expansion has been clearly evident in modern tactics employed by the American nation to dictate the behavior of other nations. Being the only superpower nation in the globe, the American virtually controls by use of its unbounded economic and military powers dictate the activities of other nations (Hall, 553). This is first seen in the use of economic sanctions against other governments which in their own setting have proved to be either enemies of the human society and its dignity or enemies of political and economic interests of the American nation.
The federalist papers are also clear on the aspect of understanding the aspect of liberty as protected for by the constitutional provisions. It clearly defines that human rights are evidently and sufficiently protected under liberty. This been identified as one of the most important philosophical wisdom by the author (DeKoster, 37). It should be noted here that during the 18th and 19th centuries, the blacks in the American community were highly discriminated. With the superiority mentality that marked the nation, calling for the formulation of a bill of rights into the new constitution could have worsened the discriminative acts against the minority communities in the American society. It was also highly probable that a compromise could not be easily realized thus risking the possibility of ever having a new constitution (Hall, 549). It is also claimed that the provisions on the constitution for respecting human rights are enough owing to the fact that each and every convicted individual should never be denied his or her right to defend himself.
The federalist papers are also clear that the new constitution should be a call for the democratization of the American nation. It is by their emphasis on the respect for the parts of the union that democracy is seen to be evidently provided for in the constitution. It is the holding of office particularly in the political arm of the government that should be dictated by the citizens of the nation. The question of having an executive one man led government is also clearly claimed. It is by the acts of democratic elections that such an executive leader of the nation could bear significance to the citizens (Hamilton, Jay, 51). The man should be should have the necessary wisdom and character for defining sustainable and fair government. This is what makes a government useful to the citizens in terms of security. Such a figure should have the authority to influence other nations both by word or military as well as economic ways. The papers are highly instrumental in recognizing that it is only a centralized form of government that will ensure sustainable respect for the human community. Still evident from the federalist papers is the fact that without a centralized form of governance equitable distribution of resource could never be realized in a nation. It is thus clear from the claims provided for a centralized government by the federalist paper that the constitution under all its provisions should ensure a just and fair action towards any member of the society (Quinn, 130).
The federalist papers in the quest for realizing justice from the law courts clearly acknowledges that the judiciary should be structured in different ranks all of which should be working in close respect for the other. It is such a philosophical understanding of the system of justice which could be thanked for the current system of justice in our nation. It is possible to appeal a case on a different court whose ranking is higher than the previous (Millican, 134). It is also by the view of tenure in the judiciary that later legislation fixed the term of stay in office by judges as well as considerations for their support provisions and immunity in their judgment decisions. Such terms are subject to cancellations in the event of misconduct by the judges, an act which is governed by the set provisions of the security of tenure for the judges. All these define the fact that the holding of any public office should have a specific term as well as regulating rule which govern the agreement. This is the practice in all sector of the American government ranging from formal employment to the political.

Another element found in the federalist papers is that of power devolution among the different arms of the government. It is by devolution of power among the arms of the government that checks and balance are put on each arm to mitigate any possibilities of discriminative use of power. It is by this that the federalist papers are seen to justify the need for having a government.  The government should have highly levels in the actions of its different arms. It is based on this that the executive, judiciary and the legislative arms of the government have different and independent though closely dependent roles to play in the whole functioning of the government (Cooke, Jacob, 42). The legislative arm for example legislate laws which are subject to signing by the executive arm of the government. Such signing will be driven by the executives wisdom on the implications of the law on the people of the nation. it is however to be noted here that the law as signed by the executive must be interpreted by the judicial arm to ascertain the best way to employ it in executing justice in the society. The judiciary can fail to use the law or evidently give a different meaning for its actual application in the legal justice systems (Quinn, 135).
In conclusion, it has been clearly established that the federalist papers are indeed a landmarks in the legal understanding and interpretation of our constitution. It is due to the philosophical wisdom provided by the authors of these papers that our nations claim to protect its constitution. It is also clear from the nature of our current government structures, laws and policies that the federalist act as a significant guide to the governance of the nation. Thus, honor and respect should be given to these three wise many of our community who evidently defined the American nation their acts of philosophical writings on the constitution.