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Brief answer: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay are famous as a group for having written the Federalist Papers, a series of 85 articles that tried to convince the people of the thirteen states to ratify the newly written Constitution in 1787-88.

Background and further information:

(The Constitution would not have become effective, and the U.S. would not have existed, unless it was ratified by the states.)

In the Federalist Papers, Hamilton, Madison and Jay argued for the necessity of a strong central government and explained various provisions of the Constitution, such as the "checks and balances" that the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) would provide on each other, why rule purely by majority might prove unfair because the rights of religious, political and other minorities had to be protected, why a republic would be more effective than a direct democracy or a loose confederation, why the country should have a one-man chief executive, and the basic concepts of federalism.

From 1783, the end of the Revolutionary War, to 1789, when the Constitution took effect, the thirteen states operated under the Articles of Confederation, with a very weak federal government. For example, even though Congress was given the power to sign treaties or declare war, this was close to useless, because all major decisions requred a unanimous vote. When Shays' Rebellion of farmers in Massachusetts arose in 1786-1787, triggered by a poor economy that resulted in turn from the federal government's failure to resolve debts created during the Revolution, and then the federal government was unable to raise an army to put down the rebellion, so that Massachusetts was forced to do so on its own, it became clear to many that changes were necessary. A Constititutional Convention met in 1787 and decided upon a Constitution, which was submitted to the states for approval.

Individually, each person was also a major contributor to the creation and success of the early United States.

Madison was most qualified to write the Federalist Papers because his thoughts on how to structure a new government had the greatest impact of anyone on the writing of the Constitution. The Constitution was ratified only because the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing certain rights to the people and to the states, were added. The Bill of Rights was largely written by Madison. Madison served in the new federal government as soon as it was created, first as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia (1789-1797), then Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), and then as the nation's next (fourth) President himself(1809-1817).

Alexander Hamilton served in the Revolution as an aide to General George Washington. He represented New York at the Constitutional Convention and became the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States in 1789.

John Jay, who had been secretary for foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation, became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the new United States and then served as Governor of New York State.

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13y ago

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