Federalist Papers Podcast Series

The Sunwater Institute
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The official podcast on the Federalist Papers for the Sunwater Institute.

  1. 09/13/2024

    Federalist 85: “The Chimerical Pursuit of a Perfect Plan” | Hamilton’s Conclusion in Support of Ratification of the Constitution

    Each of these podcasts has been organized around three big ideas concerning the essay under review – here are three big ideas for Federalist 85.  Big idea one: In Federalist 85, Hamilton defended the Constitution by arguing that its alleged defects could as easily be found in the New York Constitution as the proposed US Constitution.  Big idea two: Hamilton defended the Constitution against charges that it – and its supporters – would be harmful to liberty.  Big idea three: In Federalist 85, Hamilton defended ratification of the Constitution, even if imperfect, by urging the correction of imperfections through the amendment process after ratification.

    10 min

  2. 09/13/2024

    Federalist 84: “An Injudicious Zeal for Bills of Rights” | Hamilton on the Question of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution

    Today, we are talking about Federalist 84. We typically organize our analysis of these essays around three big ideas concerning the essay under review – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 84:  Big idea one: in Federalist 84, Hamilton, responding to concerns about the lack of a bill of rights in the Constitution, denied that the Constitution should be augmented by a bill of rights.  Big idea two: In Federalist 84, Hamilton addressed concerns that the Constitution would vest too much power in the hands of those working in a capital too far from constituents to allow them to understand what happens in government  Big idea three: in Federalist 84, Hamilton denied that fears of increased expense of the new government should be the basis of opposition to ratification of the Constitution.

    16 min

  3. 07/30/2024

    Federalist 83: “Rules of Commonsense, Adopted by the Courts in the Construction of the Laws” | Hamilton on Juries and on the Interpretation of Law

    We typically organize these podcasts around three big ideas from the essay under review – here are three big ideas from Federalist 83.  Big idea one: In Federalist 83, Hamilton described and sought to refute a claim that the Constitution would eliminate trial by jury in civil cases.  Big idea two: Hamilton argued in Federalist 83 that jury trials in civil cases were important for the sake of property, but not necessarily important for the sake of liberty  Big idea three: In Federalist 83 Hamilton offered commentary on the use of juries in specific instances that shed light on more general ideas about juries.

    13 min

  4. 07/02/2024

    Federalist 82: “Liquidate the Meaning of All the Parts” | Hamilton on the Federal Courts and the State Courts

    We begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas from Federalist 82. Big idea one: Hamilton in Federalist 82 described the creation of the USA in terms of a process that would take many discrete governments, and fuse them into a whole.  Big idea two: Hamilton in Federalist 82 invoked the concept of concurrent jurisdiction to describe the relationship between the state courts and the federal courts.  Big idea three: Hamilton in Federalist 82 asserted that judicial appeals should proceed from state courts to federal courts.

    9 min

  5. 05/16/2024

    Federalist 81: “The Supposed Danger of Judiciary Encroachments” | Hamilton on the Necessity of a Federal Court System

    We begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 81:  Big idea one: in federalist 81, Hamilton endorsed the use of one final court of appeal in the USA: the Supreme Court.  Big idea two: Hamilton also defended the creation of lower-level federal courts in Federalist 81  Big idea three: Hamilton in Federalist 81 denied that the appellate process would result in the destruction of the right to trial by jury.

    16 min

  6. 04/01/2024

    Federalist 80: “A Constitutional Method of Giving Efficacy to Constitutional Provisions” | Hamilton on the Authority of the Federal Judiciary

    We typically begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 80. Big idea one: in Federalist 80, Hamilton stressed the need for the federal judiciary, rather than the state judiciaries or legislatures, to oversee a range of cases bearing upon the country as a whole, its sovereign status in international politics, or other matters of national importance.  Big idea two: Hamilton’s defense of the powers of the federal courts was cast in terms of the need to maintain peace, whether in the sense of international peace or of domestic tranquility. This implicated the privileges and immunities clause, which Hamilton described as the “basis of the union”  Big idea three: Hamilton in Federalist 80 described the role of equity in judicial decision-making.

    11 min

  7. 03/08/2024

    Federalist 79: “The Imaginary Danger of a Superannuated Bench” | Hamilton on the Tenure of Judges in Office

    We typically begin these podcasts with three big ideas – here are three big ideas from Federalist 79.  Big idea one: In Federalist 79, Hamilton argued in favor of the importance of judges in the federal court system not having their salaries reduced.  Big idea two: In arguing in favor of judges not having their salaries reduced, Hamilton referred to the effects of inflation over the long term on salaries.  Big idea three: In Federalist 79, Hamilton offered a brief description of impeachment of judges, focused on the idea that the grounds for impeachment should be violations of good behavior, rather than claims about the ability of a judge to do the job.

    7 min

  8. 02/14/2024

    Federalist 78: “The Citadel of the Public Justice and the Public Security” | Hamilton on Judicial Review and Terms of Judicial Office

    We typically organize these podcasts around three big ideas – here are three big ideas concerning Federalist 78.  Big idea one: in Federalist 78 Hamilton defended the notion that the tenure of federal judges should be relative to a standard of good behavior, and associated that standard with the independence of the judiciary.   Big idea two: in Federalist 78 Hamilton defended the claim that the judiciary is the least powerful – least dangerous - of the three branches.  Big idea three: in Federalist 78 Hamilton defended the idea that the judiciary ought to be the body that determines whether laws are constitutional.

    15 min
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The official podcast on the Federalist Papers for the Sunwater Institute.

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