The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

Why this is the answer

Three men wrote the Federalist Papers: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. USCIS also accepts "Publius," the pen name all three used, so there are four correct answers, and a last name alone is enough. The essays were a newspaper campaign. Once the Constitutional Convention finished its work in 1787, each state had to decide whether to ratify the new Constitution. The three authors wrote 85 essays in 1787 and 1788, printed first in New York newspapers while that state was making up its mind, and then picked up by papers in other states as their own debates went on. They appeared between October 1787 and May 1788, and in 1788 they were gathered into a book called The Federalist. Opposition did not disappear because of essays alone; many more people came around once supporters of the Constitution agreed to add a list of rights, which became the Bill of Rights in 1791. The texts kept at the Library of Congress show how the work was shared. The first essay, a general introduction credited to Hamilton, is addressed "To the People of the State of New York" and tells readers they are being asked to consider a new Constitution after clear experience that the existing federal government was not working. Jay wrote the second, about dangers from foreign force and influence, and Madison wrote the tenth, on the Union as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection. Publius is the answer applicants tend to forget, and it is a useful fallback if the three surnames run together in your head. The mistake to avoid is naming other famous founders. Jefferson, Washington and Franklin each have their own questions in this section, and none of them is on this list. There is a bonus in learning it well: the Federalist Papers also appear among the accepted answers for both Madison and Hamilton, so one fact serves you on three different questions.