[Hamilton, Alexander; James Madison; and John Jay]:

$250,000 · Offered by William Reese Company

THE FEDERALIST: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS WRITTEN IN FAVOR OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION.... Rare first edition of the most important work of American political thought ever written, and according to Thomas Jefferson, "the best commentary on the principles of government." "The Federalist is without question the most important commentary on the Constitution, the most significant American contribution to political theory, and among the most important of all American books" - Reese.The genesis of this "classic exposition of the principles of republican government" (Bernstein) is to be found in the "great national discussion" which took place about the ratification of the Constitution and the necessity of answering the arguments from the Anti-Federalists and other opponents of a strong federal government. Written anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, most of the essays were initially issued individually in three different New York newspapers under the pseudonym Publius, beginning on October 27, 1787. The original plan was that James Madison and John Jay were to help Hamilton write a series of essays explaining the merits of their system, while also rebutting the arguments of its detractors. "Hamilton wrote the first piece in October 1787 on a sloop returning from Albany....He finished many pieces while the printer waited in a hall for the completed copy" - Brookhiser. The first thirty-six numbers were collected into a single volume in March 1788, with the remaini

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