Lesson 14: What Was the Federalist Position in the Debate about Ratification?

Terms

"new science of politics"  James Madison's term in The Federalist for a study of politics utilizing reason, observation, and history that would help the Founders construct a new government on a rational and informed basis.

The Federalist  A series of articles written for newspapers in 1787-88 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay urging the adoption of the Constitution and supporting the need for a strong national government. The articles were published as a book, The Federalist, in 1788.

faction  (1) A small group within a larger group. (2) In its political sense, according to James Madison in Federalist 10, a faction is a "number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united...by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."

Federalists  Advocates for a strong central government who urged ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787?88. They flourished as a political party in the 1790s under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton. The party disappeared from national politics in 1816.

majority tyranny  A situation in which a majority uses the principle of majority rule but fails to respect the rights and interests of the minority. See also majority rule