Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote 85 essays between October 1787 and August 1788 arguing that New York should ratify the Constitution. Published under the pseudonym ''Publius'' in New York newspapers, the Federalist Papers remain the most authoritative explanation of what the Constitution''s drafters intended. Hamilton wrote 51 essays, Madison 29, and Jay five. Federalist No. 10, written by Madison, explained how a large republic could control factions better than small democracies. Federalist No. 51 laid out the separation of powers: ''Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.'' Federalist No. 78, Hamilton''s defense of judicial review, argued courts need independence to check legislative overreach. The Supreme Court has cited the Federalist Papers more than 3,000 times, treating them as evidence of original intent. Critics note the essays were propaganda written to win ratification, not neutral legal analysis. Anti-Federalists published competing essays warning the Constitution created a dangerous central government, but history sided with Publius. The Federalist Papers shaped constitutional law by giving judges a roadmap to the Framers'' thinking—or at least Hamilton and Madison''s version of it.