Time Sensitive!

Which of these describes the purpose of the Federalist Papers? Select all that apply.

to discourage factions

to support the Constitution

to provide safeguards against tyranny

to answer criticisms from the Anti-Federalists

to support the Constitution

Answer: To discourage factions, to support the Constitution and to provide safeguards against tyranny.

Explanation:

The Federalist Papers consisted of 85 essays, published in 1787, whose purpose was to explain and defend the newly proposed U. S. Constitution so it could be ratified (It had already been harshly criticized at the Philadelphia Convention).

In these papers, one of the strongest arguments in favor of the Constitution that the authors made is that with its ratification, the government could have the power to control and dissolve the violence and damage caused by factions, which only worked according to their special economic interests at the expense of the public interest.

Likewise, the authors were aware that many opponents held that the new government under the proposed Constitution was too powerful, thus they also focused on explaining that this document provided many safeguards against tyranny, such as the establishment of a limited government (It could only perform the powers specifically granted to it), of an equal separation of power which prevented the potential for tyranny and that it provided a system of checks and balances, where each of the three branches could check and limit the other branches.