The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton [346]
Generally considered to be among the best of the Anti-Federalist writings, The Observations of The Federal Farmer were published as a complete series, in 1787, in the Poughkeepsie Country Journal and later as very popular pamphlets. The essays are available in Herbert J. Storing, ed., The Complete Anti-Federalist, vol. 2, pp. 214–357.
p. 413. "For forms of government let fools contest…": The poet is Alexander Pope (1688–1744), whose couplet from his. An Essay on Man (Epistle III, lines 303–304) is slightly misquoted. In the original, the second line reads, "Whate’er is best administered is best."
Federalist 69
p. 414. there is not less a resemblance to theGrand Seignior, to thekhan of Tartary…: The Grand Seignior was the supreme ruler, or Sultan, of the Ottoman Empire. The khan of Tartary was chief of the Tatars, one of the nomadic "horse peoples" that periodically devastated the Near East and central Europe during the Middle Ages.
p. 416n. A writer in a Pennsylvania paper, under the signature ofTAMONY…: Tamony was the pseudonym of an author who published a letter in a Virginian paper (later reprinted in Pennsylvania and New York), arguing that the kings and queens of England, more limited in this respect than the president under the proposed Constitution, owed their prerogatives as commanders-in-chief to annual legislative approval:
Suffer me to view the commander of the fleets and armies of America, with a reverential awe inspired by the contemplation of his great prerogatives, though not dignified with the magic name of King, he will possess more supreme power, than Great Britain allows her hereditary monarchs, who derive ability to support an army from annual supplies, and owe the command of one to an annual mutiny law. The American President may be granted supplies for two years, and his command of a standing army is unrestrained by law or limitation.
Publius, citing Blackstone, argues that the prerogative of the British king is immemorial. The letter appears in Herbert J. Storing, ed., The Complete Anti-Federalist, vol. 5, pp. 145–147.
p. 416n. and was only disputed "contrary to all reason and precedent," asBlackstone…expresses it…: Sir William Blackstone (1723–1780) was an English jurist and Vinerian professor of common law at Oxford. He served as a Member of Parliament (1761–1770); solicitor general to the queen (1763); and justice of the court of common pleas (1770–1780); he is known for his magisterial study of English law, entitled Commentaries on the Laws of England, which was published in four volumes between 1765 and 1769. A highly readable style and suitability as a ready reference made the Commentaries a standard reference in American jurisprudence throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
p. 416n. by theLong Parliament…: The Parliament summoned by Charles I in November 1640 passed a bill precluding its dissolution without its consent. It was not formally dissolved until 1660, and became known as the "Long Parliament." A string of additional parliamentary measures, designed to deprive the king of the instruments of prerogative rule, led finally to civil war and to a split between radical and moderate members of Parliament over the shape of the postwar settlement. In 1648, a coup, known as "Pride’s Purge" after its leader, Colonel Pride, rid Parliament of its moderate members, and this "Rump of the Long Parliament" executed the king, abolished the monarchy, and declared a republic. Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Parliamentary army, expelled the Rump in 1653 and established the Protectorate. After Cromwell’s death (1658), General Monck recalled the full house and in 1660 the Long Parliament voted to dissolve itself.
p. 416n. ofCharles I…: Charles I (1600–1649) became king of England in 1625. Son of James I, Charles struggled with Parliament throughout his reign and attempted repeatedly and without success to govern alone. His need for Parliament’s financial assistance and his recalcitrance before Parliament’s demands for concessions