In September 1787, after a long summer of intense deliberation and compromise, the Federal Convention released a proposed Constitution of the United States--and immediately ignited a firestorm. Public debate was passionate and fierce. Supporters, the Federalists, believed the Constitution would save the floundering former colonies from the confusion and anarchy of the current, weak government. Detractors held that adopting the Constitution would mean nothing less than the end of American liberty.

The Federalists--among them George Washington and Benjamin Franklin--knew that the stakes could not be higher: the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and America's very existence as an independent nation, depended on the protection of the Constitution. And so on Saturday, October 27, 1787, Alexander Hamilton came to its defense, publishing the first column of what would come to be known as The Federalist Papers.

Written by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay from October 1787 to August 1788--a span of 294 days that ranks among the most consequential periods in politics--The Federalist Papers are part history, part political science, and part theology. Introduced here by bestselling American historian and biographer Jon Meacham, they offer unparalleled insight into the workings of the democratic process and the values underpinning the American project--then as now.