Federal Farmer Antifederalist Essays

Federal Farmer Antifederalist Essays

Federalist-Antifederalist Debates Exhibit Home

Initially published in New York newspapers, the essays of the Federal Farmer were eventually circulated in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Until the 1970s, it was generally believed that Richard Henry Lee, the member of the Second Continental Congress who proposed that a declaration of independence from England be written, was the author. Scholarship by Gordon Wood, however, posed a serious challenge to this long-held conclusion. Herbert Strong, an acknowledged expert on Antifederalist writings, also calls into question Lee as author, but for different reasons. Neither scholar has promoted an alternate author, although some other researchers have asserted that Melancton Smith could have written them.

Although the true author may never be known, the Federal Farmer essays were recognized by Alexander Hamilton and other Federalists as being among the most coherent and serious of the Antifederalist papers.