The Federalist Papers were written and published in New York newspapers in 1787-1788 in order to sway public opinion to approve and ratify the newly devised United States Constitution. The essays were written by three prominent members of the founding generation – Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

I consider these essays a user’s guide for the Constitution and they deserve at least a perfunctory understanding. Short of reading the debates from the constitutional convention and the state ratification debates, the Federalist Papers provide some of the best insights into the United States Constitution.

This is the second in a three-part podcast series on the Federalist Papers.

In this episode, I discuss the checks and balances built into the Constitution by looking at two of the three branches of government created by the Constitution – the legislative and executive branches. We continue to uncover the slow but deliberate tearing down of the constitutional republic the founders bequeathed us.

Shawn Brodof