The Federalist Papers are revered as one of the foundational documents of American democracy, a brilliant series of eighty-five essays arguing for ratification of the Constitution. But the fascinating truth is that by most practical measures, they failed at their immediate purpose. Written primarily to influence the ratification debate in New York, the essays probably changed few if any votes, arrived too late to affect the outcome in most states, and were largely ignored by the general public they supposedly addressed. Their real significance emerged only decades later, making them perhaps the most successful failure in American political history. Alexander Hamilton conceived the project in the fall of 1787 as a propaganda campaign to overcome fierce opposition to the Constitution in New York. He recruited James Madison and John Jay to help produc ...