Publius+&+Federalist+1

The authors of the Federalist Papers: John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison use historical references to appeal to the people of New York regarding the “new” constitution. The first of the papers was written by Hamilton- who began the use of the alias “Publius” to keep the authorship anonymous. After researching Publius and the Roman Republic the intentions of the three men to model the same system becomes evident, at least at first. Similarities between the Roman Republic and their proposed ideology for America include recent separation from a monarchy prior to the formation of the republic and use of “empire” status as an authoritative nation; however, by advertising a constitutional government it is clear they have decided to alter Roman history to fit the needs of the American people. The Roman Republic began with the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC. As history tends to repeat, during the time of the Federalist Papers and the proposal for such a government, the United States had only been declared independent from England and their monarchial control for just over a decade; not a great length of time for a country the size of the United States. The vulnerability of the two nations during the transition allows the people to be more accepting of the new government and more likely to unite, which I’m sure the three men were well aware. About 450 years after the formation of the Roman Republic, the nation achieved “Empire” status, thus becoming the powerful Roman Empire. It is no coincidence Hamilton labels America “an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world”. It seems he desires America to UNITE as a UNION to become the world leader, as did the Romans as an empire, but instead of an autocratic form of government, he proposes to institute a constitutional structure for the United States.  Hamilton states in the first paper “History will teach us that…” which leads me to believe the men at that time were knowledgeable and familiar with Roman history given the choice of Publius as their example. This acknowledgment allows them to be aware of successes and failures in governmental institutions and have the ability to model or change certain aspects they feel necessary. This explains why even though the authors reference this particular era, they make it known that not all aspects will be repeated. At least I hope America does not become an autocratic government by 2,226…