<P> The Federalist (later known as The Federalist Papers) is a collection of 85 articles and essays written (under the pseudonym Publius) by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution . Seventy - seven were published serially in the Independent Journal and the New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788 . A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, was published in two volumes in 1788 by J. and A. McLean . The collection's original title was The Federalist; the title The Federalist Papers did not emerge until the 20th century . </P> <P> Though the authors of The Federalist foremost wished to influence the vote in favor of ratifying the Constitution, in "Federalist No. 1", they explicitly set that debate in broader political terms: </P>

What were the federalist papers what was their intended purpose