Our nation is at risk. Our history and traditions, our values, our songs and stories, even our holidays have come under sustained attacks from arrogant elites and a propaganda press. They desperately aim to destroy the pillars of our national character and replace the Republic with vile coercions of totalitarianism. The chaos unleashed by the ruling establishment’s ongoing campaign of demoralization and desecration of truth causes us to find the footing necessary to hold tight and preserve our liberties.
This week we conclude our exploration of The Federalist Papers, one of our nation’s foundational texts, by reflecting on this collection of 85 writings that are as relevant today as when they were first published. The destiny of this nation has more chapters to write, and We The People are called upon, once again, to fight for freedom for it is not an abstraction, not just an idea. Rather, it is in the nature of the blood that flows through our veins, the air that fills our lungs, and the aspirations that drive us forward.
The Federalist Papers were written from 1787 to 1788, and co-authored by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, whose intent was to encourage the thirteen original states to ratify the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, binding us together as Americans.
We call The Federalist Papers the Constitution’s biography because it explains not only how it was written and why, but also details the ideas that brought it to life, and with it the conviction that free men not only can, but must create their own destiny. This, after all, is the duty that all those born free, with God-given inalienable rights, owe to liberty. And our particular mission is to preserve the freedom won by our ancestors for the next generations – our children and grandchildren.
The principles and ideas woven through The Federalist Papers are as significant to us today as ever before. The purpose of these 85 essays, as Hamilton explains in the introductory essay, Federalist No. 1, is to explain to those who will vote on the Constitution what’s at stake. He writes,
It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force.
With “reflection” and “choice,” Hamilton underscores the significance of The Federalist Papers as a whole in persuasive arguments by him and his co-authors to ratify or not the Constitution. The crucial point is this — a free society can only be guided by a clear understanding of the choices before them. Truth is always the touchstone of freedom.
For us, however, what we’ve seen over the past several years is lie after lie rolled out by our ruling class. From Russiagate to labeling January 6 as an “insurrection,” from COVID-19 mandates to the collapse of our economy, from open borders flush with fentanyl killing our family members and friends to the radical race and gender ideologies unapologetically forced upon schoolchildren, we have evidence that the men and women tasked to lead America have instead lied to it, putting our freedom at risk.
And so as we today stand at a crossroads, let us remember that our Founding Fathers found themselves in the same place. We will learn from them, reading what they wrote not only for their own generation but for generations of Americans to come. Moved by Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, they took their fate in their hands and by ratifying the supreme law of the land chose to live together as a free nation. Our choice will also be guided by the light of truth.
