Federalist No. 27

Federalist No. 27
Alexander Hamilton, author of Federalist No. 27

Author	Alexander Hamilton
Language	English
Series	The Federalist
Publisher	New York Packet New York Journal
Publication date	December 25, 1787
Media type	Newspaper
Preceded by	Federalist No. 26
Followed by	Federalist No. 28

Federalist No. 27, titled "The Same Subject Continued: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered", is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the twenty-seventh of The Federalist Papers. It was published on December 25, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. Federalist No. 27 is the second of three successive essays covering the relationship between legislative authority and military force, preceded by Federalist No. 26, and succeeded by Federalist No. 28.

Federalist No. 27 considers the anti-federalist position that military force would be necessary to enforce the will of the federal legislature. Hamilton opposed their position, arguing that the people would respect a government that is well administered and that a federal government would be better administered than the state governments. The framers of the Constitution created a federal system that allocated some powers to the federal government and others to the state. This essay was part of the argument about which entity would be responsible for which power. Support for the federal government has persisted since the ratification of the constitution, and political philosophers have cited Federalist No. 27 to justify expansion of civil service and governmental transparency.

Summary

Hamilton began the essay by challenging the idea that citizens would not obey the laws of the government in the proposed constitution. He argued that in most cases it is how well a government is administered that determines the loyalty of the citizens rather than how close or distant it is. He believed that the federal government would be better administered than the state governments, citing its structure and scope. Hamilton argued that a larger federal government would be better equipped to prevent sedition than a smaller state government, discouraging the people from ignoring their laws and regulations. He also suggested that citizens would ultimately accept the federal government over time. Hamilton concluded that the federal government would be less likely to use military force to ensure compliance with its laws than the states. Finally, he explained that under the constitution the people would have power over the federal government, and that in the federal system set out in the constitution, the federal government would also employ state law enforcement.

Background and publication

Federalist No. 27 was written by Alexander Hamilton. Following the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Hamilton worked with James Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays to explain the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and persuade New York to ratify it. They published these essays in New York newspapers under the shared pseudonym Publius. It first appeared in the New-York Journal and the New-York Packet on December 25, 1787, followed by the Independent Journal and the Daily Advertiser on the following day. Federalist No. 27 expanded on the subject of popular support between the state governments and the federal government that Hamilton had addressed in Federalist No. 17, and directly continued Hamilton's arguments regarding military enforcement of the law and legislative control of the military in No. 24 and No. 26.

Shays' Rebellion took place shortly before the writing of the Federalist Papers. It represented popular discontent among citizens that necessitated military force by the government. This may have influenced Hamilton's thoughts when writing Federalist No. 27, though he maintained the position that such discontent would become less common over time.

Analysis

Federalist No. 27 was a response to the Anti-federalists who had argued that a federal government is too remote to inspire loyalty or obedience. The Anti-federalists questioned whether the people would be inclined to obey the laws of a federal government. They feared that a federal government might have to resort to force to ensure compliance, since they would have control over a standing military. Hamilton challenged their view with the argument that rational citizens would favor the government that has better laws, whether it be state or federal.

Factionalism

Hamilton addressed the concern that ran throughout the Federalist Papers, the problem of factionalism that could divide the people and tear the country apart. Hamilton made the case that the federal government would likely be administered better than the individual state governments, citing better electoral options for the people. He used the selection of federal senators by state legislatures as one example, considering it to be a measure that ensures the federal government is run by more competent leaders. He argued that factions would be less likely to occur within the nation as opposed to within one state. Federal officials would be one layer removed from the passions of the people so they would be less influenced by factionalism, and more immune to sudden ill-advised initiatives. He also argued that since the federal government would be more removed from the citizenry's daily life, the people would become accustomed to its existence over time without stirring up rebellious passion. Since people are creatures of habit, he argued, as the federal government's scope increased over time, the people would become more accustomed to it and accepting of its presence.

Federalism

Hamilton believed that a federal government would ultimately be more fit to govern and sustain the populace when organized as a republican government and invested with sufficient power. A well administered federal government could appeal to the people as well as state governments He argued that a federal government could win this favor without military strength. Not only would it be better administered but it would work with the "Legislatures, Courts, and Magistrates, of the respective members" incorporating them into federal rule as constitutional authority allows.

Impact

Federalist No. 27 was directly continued in Federalist No. 28, where Hamilton argued that it would be necessary for a federal military to enforce order in the face of rebellion. The idea of popular support for the federal government over the state governments would be revisited by James Madison in No. 46 and by Hamilton in No. 68.

Maintaining American support for the federal government has been a recurring political issue in the United States and has been the subject of extensive academic research. Changes to American republicanism, including the scope of the federal government and how citizens are represented in Congress, have provided new factors that re-contextualize Federalist No. 27. The issue of public support between state and federal governments would become a significant factor in eighteenth century politics with the development of regionalism in the United States and the growth of the country over a large distance, impeding administration that pleased all regions of the country and making national communication difficult. The issue of slavery and states' rights would divide the nation and lead to a civil war.

The nature of these concerns was altered with the advent of mass media. Supporters of expanded civil service and the work of federal executive departments cite the arguments of Federalist No. 27 to argue for the necessity of such a system. Supporters of governmental transparency also cite Federalist No. 27 to demonstrate that a government is strengthened when citizens see it operating properly. Government transparency in the United States significantly increased in the latter half of the twentieth century. As the bureaucracy has grown, the ideas of Federalist No. 27 are challenged by the modern conservative movement, which holds that the federal government is incapable of being sufficiently well-administered to earn public acceptance.

Legacy

In the 1957 Supreme Court case Reid v. Covert, Federalist No. 27 was one of the works cited by Justice Hugo Black in his plurality opinion to establish that the founding fathers intended for civilian control of the military. It was a point of contention in the 1997 Supreme Court case Printz v. United States, in which Justice David Souter interpreted it to demonstrate support by Hamilton for federal authority over state officials. It was also cited in the 2015 Supreme Court case Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission by Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissent to establish the historical understanding of what constitutes a legislature.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Epstein, David F. The Political Theory of The Federalist. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0226213002
• Levinson, Sanford. An Argument Open to All: Reading “The Federalist” in the 21st Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0300199598
• Millican, Edward. One United People: The Federalist Papers and the National Idea. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2014. ISBN 978-0813160337
• Newbold, Stephanie P. "Federalist No. 27: Is Transparency Essential for Public Confidence in Government?" Public Administration Review 71 (2011): S47–S52.
• Potter, Kathleen O. The Federalist's Vision of Popular Sovereignty in the New American Republic. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1931202442
• Rohr, John Anthony. To Run a Constitution: The Legitimacy of the Administrative State. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1986, ISBN 978-0700602919
• Scott, Kyle. The Federalist Papers: A Reader's Guide. London, U.K.: A&C Black, 2013. ISBN 1441185860
• Wirls, Daniel. The Federalist Papers and Institutional Power In American Political Development. Palgrave Pivot, 2015. ISBN 978-1137533272

External links

All links retrieved June 23, 2026.

• Full text of Federalist No. 27 at Avalon Project
• "Federalist Essays in Historic Newspapers," U. S. Library of Congress
• "Federalist Papers: Primary Documents in American History" U. S. Library of Congress
• The Federalist (Dawson)/27 Wikisource

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