Federalist #10 (1787) is the closest thing to a treatise in political theory written by an American founder. In it, James Madison attempted to explain how, under the Constitution, the United States might solve the problem of factionalism that we experience as partisanship today. This and all the Federalist papers were written after the Constitution had been signed but before it was ratified, and thus before the first government could be elected or inaugurated. Reading Federalist #10 closely in the several contexts of (1) other Federalist Papers, (2) the ratification campaign, and (3) the long aftermath of US history until today may help us understand the current predicament of the United States.
Required Book: Federalist Papers, editor JR Pole, (Hacket Publishers) or photocopy of #10.
