The Federalist papers -- 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in support of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution -- began appearing in New York newspapers beginning in the autumn of 1787. And though controversy still swirls around authorship of certain individual essays, and the impact the papers had on the public opinion of the time remains open to debate, it's clear that the dramatic impact on global civilization of these spirited defenses of the nation's founding document cannot be exaggerated.

As masterful examinations of the fundamental principals of the U.S. system of government, they are unrivaled -- as works of political philosophy, they have moved and influenced peoples and nations around the world in their battles toward freedom and democracy.

This edition also includes The Articles of Confederation of the United States, and The Declaration of Independence.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON (1757-1804), JOHN JAY (1745-1829), and JAMES MADISON (1751-1836) are among the most revered of America's Founding Fathers, men whose animated advocacy of the new nation continues to reverberate in political thought today.