Federalist No. 39

The Federalist No. 39 “The conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles,” is the thirty-ninth of The Federalist Papers and was published by James Madison on January 18, 1788. Madison defines what a Republican form of government is considered, which was what the nation was currently called. It also considers whether the nation is federal or national: a confederacy, or consolidation of states. At the current moment the nation was considered Federal and states were confederate, but they were leaning towards A National government. (federal vs. national government.) Madison then defines what republic means and states three rules which must comply to be considered a Republic:

This corresponds to the Madisonian Republic, which means the system of government where the citizens of the state elect representatives to make decisions for them using three powerful branches, the executive, the judicial, and the legislative.

From early in the Constitutional Convention, Madison held the position that the national government should be federal, because if it was more extensive in relation to the states that would increase the, "probability of duration, happiness and good order”. It was not initially clear how the new government would interact with the states, and Madison was in favor of a federal form, a, "government whereby political power is divided between a central or national authority and smaller, locally autonomous units such as provinces or states, generally under the terms of a constitution. A federal government, or federation, is usually formed through the political union of two or more formerly independent states under one sovereign government that does not, in any case, arrogate the individual powers of those states." (Federal Government). Other alternatives included a confederacy as under the Articles of Confederation or a more strictly national government.

Federalist No. 39 is one of a series of essays written to urge ratification of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, sent these essays to try to sway the remaining nine states to preserve the Federal form of government, with a National government interest.

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