Description
Tench Coxe may be the most influential founding father that people have never heard of.
For most people, discussions about the meaning of the Constitution begin and end with the Federalist Papers. These essays enjoy immense popularity today mostly due to the fame of their authors – Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. But in their day, they didn’t have widespread influence on the ratification itself.
Tench Coxe, on the other hand, was “possibly the most widely-read of any Federalist author,” and was one of the most influential writers in support of the Constitution during the entirety of the ratification debates of 1787-1788.
“The Other Federalist Papers: Tench Coxe” not only provides you with 52 pages worth of a deep dive into his primary arguments – everything from delegated and reserved powers, the structure of congress and the executive branch, the power of the sword and the militia – and much more – but another 119 pages of his main essays all in one place, for the first time in print.
Coxe covered a wide range of topics during the ratification debates, setting the stage for virtually every federalist argument in favor of ratification.
His writing serves as a valuable resource today as we seek to learn the original, legal meaning of the Constitution as understood by the founders and ratifiers, and the limits it places on the federal government.
Given that the arguments advanced by supporters of ratification reveal how the people who ratified it understood its original legal meaning, Coxe’s writing provides undeniable insight into just how far things have gone off the rails.
Paperback: 171 pages
Publisher: Tenth Amendment Center (2024)
