ENGAGING THE federalists PAPERS
For a complete assignment, students must CITE the following (EACH at least ONCE):
1) The Federalist Papers(IN FILES)
2) Chapts. 1-3 of the textbook (https://openstax.org/details/american government)
3) Storing’s Introduction/Chapt. 3 ( IN FILES) – What the Anti-Federalists Stood For Any citation style (Chicago, MLA, etc…) is acceptable as long as consistent and correct
1) Selecting a quotation (a sentence or BRIEF section)
a) e.g. No. 14: “It is, that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.” 1
b) Several important papers are already listed on our Moodle page, as well as a guide to others.
2) Students will then react with their ARGUMENT
a) e.g. Argument: As Federalist Paper 14 illustrates and contrary to classical thought, a large, heterogeneous republic is better served to protect individual rights.
3) Utilize the Federalist paper chosen and the textbook to support their argument.
a) e.g. A representative republic is defined as …It is better to have a myriad of
interests competing nationally… From a practical standpoint, America must be a republic…
b) Citing Federalist Paper AND Textbook
4) Students must also reference the Anti-Federalists in Storing’s work. Depending on the students’ argument, they may attack the Anti-Federalists as wrong or use their ideas to attack the Federalist Papers.
You must write a ~3 page paper (roughly 900+ words). This is NOT a broad look at many arguments. You will give:
● One Federalist Papers quote.
● One thesis. (In your own words)
● An intro – engaging the thesis
● A body – containing reasoning and citations
● A conclusion – ties your paper together (do NOT simply repeat the arguments)
