Federalist No. 81
Federalist No. 81 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the eighty-first of The Federalist Papers. It was published on June 25 and 28, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. The title is "The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority", and it is the fourth in a series of six essays discussing the powers and limitations of the Judicial branch. The Federalist Papers, as a foundation text of constitutional interpretation, are frequently cited by American jurists. Of all the essays, No. 81 is the third-most cited, behind only Federalist No. 42 and Federalist No. 78. Federalist No. 81 addresses how the powers of the judiciary should be distributed. It deals with potential fears for the irreversible effects of judicial activism. Background Before the U.S Constitution was implemented the states were held together by the Articles of Confederation, which served as a loose tie between the states during the Revolutionary War. The articles were lacking in many ways and was unsuitable to create a long lasting and effective government capable of sustaining a nation. It became apparent that the U.S. would not last long if they couldn't draft a constitution