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Federalist No. 2

Federalist No. 2 is an article written by John Jay as the second essay of The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 essays arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. These 85 essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were published under the pseudonym "Publius." Federalist No. 2 was published on October 31, 1787 as the first of four essays written by Jay.

In Federalist No. 2, titled "Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence," Jay addresses the advantages of a unified government over separate sovereignties. He discusses how an undivided country enforces laws with more efficiency, resolves conflicts, and gives better protection from foreign influences, such as military force.

Background

The American Revolutionary War was very tough on the colonies, and despite the victory over England, the colonies were nowhere prepared to run their own country. They forced their mother country of England out and now they were on their own. There were people that were strongly against the colonies to be a free nation as the question was how would they handle everything. Being dependent on England for many years had its positives and negatives. Although there were much more negatives of British rule, such as obeying British orders and paying their taxes, more problems arose as the colonies detached themselves from England. They were not on the same level, militarily, with other European nations such as Britain and France. Specifically those two powerful countries had a large influence along the North Atlantic coastline.  Many were worried that one of the European powers would try to come back to the United States. This would cause our nation to return to its colonial status or limitation of American sovereignty.  It was time to take matters into their own hands and the decisions that were to be made for the future split the colonies apart. That was the moment in American history when the Federalist Papers came into play. They were documents that made critical advancements of a then disorderly nation. The documents which are basically publications of essays that were published throughout 1787 and 1788 by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton under the pen name of "Publius." The authors are now famously referred to as the Founding Fathers of America for their noticeable contributions.  Federalist Paper Two written by John Jay is entirely dedicated to unity. Jay argues that a strong Union of American States would give  the best opportunity to strive and survive for centuries to come.  

Jay's Argument

Jay begins his article by remarking that his argument addresses those assume that dividing the United States of America is more beneficial than uniting the country. He wants to emphasize to nonbelievers that the nation will be governed by a strong but necessary system.

He explains that a unified government is crucial in solving conflict within the country. Before the Constitution was in effect, many states had their own foreign policies and their own currency which "made trade between states and other countries extremely difficult." In addition, the government had no power to tax the states which meant that the government had little money to pay back debts resulting from the Revolutionary War. Jay asserted that a strong central government would ease these discords with a unitary foreign policy, monetary system, and a, equal, fair tax on all citizens.

He also argues that a unified government would better protect the country from foreign influences, such as war. Separate states are not concerned for the safety of the whole country and their individual pacts with foreign countries would not help other states, it may even harm other states if one state decided to call upon its foreign ally to invade its neighbors. A central government would make alliances and create a policy that benefits all of the country. Moreover, a unified nation will have a better and stronger military, with so many states to contribute soldiers and money to fund the program, the country will have a superior army as opposed to fragmented forces.

Counterarguments

The ratification of the Constitution was not the only reason for the writing of the Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers were written as a response to the Antifederalist papers that were written by a variety of authors that published under the pseudonym "Brutus." The Antifederalist papers were arguments opposing the ratification of the Constitution and, instead, encouraging a weaker, centralized government and stronger state governments.  There were direct articles between the Federalists and Antifederalists that conflicted each other. Federalist paper No. 2’s counterpart was Anti Federalist No. 1. Federalist tries to state that having one centralized government is nearly impossible as the extent and progression of the united states would hinder the legislative control. “Not only the opinion of the greatest men, and the experience of mankind, are against the idea of an extensive republic, but a variety of reasons may be drawn from the reason and nature of things, against it. In every government, the will of the sovereign is the law. In despotic governments, the supreme authority being lodged in one, his will is law, and can be as easily expressed to a large extensive territory as to a small one. In a pure democracy the people are the sovereign, and their will is declared by themselves; for this purpose they must all come together to deliberate, and decide. This kind of government cannot be exercised, therefore, over a country of any considerable extent; it must be confined to a single city, or at least limited to such bounds as that the people can conveniently assemble, be able to debate, understand the subject submitted to them, and declare their opinion concerning it.” Anti Federalist No.1 discusses how having a a centralized government adjourn,legislate, and delegate a country of this size was infeasible. In the form of democracy that America was seeking, having a centralized democratic republic would be difficult as to enforcing the law as well as making creating policy. In order to create policy all the representatives would have to all meet at one specified location at one specified time creating slower and less efficient sort of government. The anti federalist argued that having a centralized government was a form of reins on the states and limited their power.

Historical Context

A key moment where Federalist No. 2 played a role is the Civil War. The Civil War was fought over the the justification of the Union. During the mid 1800’s, the United States was becoming a more progressive country that was bandwagoning along with Europe on the idea of banning slavery. This was a heavy controversial topic amongst the citizens primarily because the Southern states economical foundation was based upon the shoulders on slavery. The North on the other hand had the means of the industry and machinery, whereas agriculture was kept localized. Taking the necessity of slaves away from the South, became a rocky foundation for the Southern States.  As a result the Southern states seceded from the Union calling themselves the Confederacy. This led to the bloodiest war that America was a part of, a war that nearly tore a nation apart. The South seceding from the North left a country broken in two pieces. Using the same philosophy as before, it was obvious that having two separate countries would make the nation as a whole susceptible to foreign attack and as a result North and South would have both have lost in the end. North, in fear of losing the entire country, retaliated by using brute force to conquer the South and restore the union. “That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” The 16th President was a believer in the Union, as was John Jay. Abraham Lincoln understood that “a house divided between itself will fall.” Lincoln recognized that with a Union broken will not only systematically break ourselves down as a nation but may attract foreign nations to invade our weakened country; exactly what John Jay argued a united country would prevent.

Modern Relevance

It is quite amazing how the Constitution was a debatable topic in the era of post Revolutionary War of the Thirteen Colonies because it has survived all these years. The Constitution was a step from not being accomplished yet right now we cannot imagine our nation without it. It is the foundation which we rely on. In the upcoming presidential elections taking place in November, the country once again is divided. Approximately two hundred and fifty years have passed since the writing of the second Federalist Paper and a lot has changed in our country. We have grown and developed however even after all those years the Federalist Papers are still relevant. Two thousand sixteen is the year known to have the worst election in the history of America. The nation is basically divided into three groups, ones that love Hillary Clinton, love Donald Trump, or hate them both. What most people agree on is the fact that neither of them are completely qualified to become president. The Founding Fathers have built this country on honesty, love and joint companionship and that is something neither of the candidates possess. They look out what is in the best interest for themselves and their party not necessarily what is best for America. This is completely opposite of what John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton argued for in the Federalist Papers. They put their heart and soul into our country and fought to make it the best possible version of itself that would benefit everyone. Both Clinton and Trump have their positives but they also have a lot of negatives. Trump wants to “make America great again”  and unify it in a nontraditional way. He is very big on isolationism and that is his idea of unifying the country. Isolationism will allow us to work within ourselves in unity to make the country more powerful and successful. This is similar to some extent of what Jay was arguing in his essay as he also wanted the country unified however he strongly believed in forming alliances and foreign trade. Hillary Clinton also wants the country brought together but in a much different way. She believes in keeping families united by providing them with additional immigration reforms. She prefers to unite the country as a whole by allowing immigrants to be a part of this nation together with its citizens. Clinton has a more delicate way of moving our country forward than Trump does. To some extent both candidates are wanting to unite the country in one direction however their approaches are much different, nearly opposite.

Authors: Jessica Aseng, Gabby Majcher, Kellen Kadakia