<Tr> <Th> Publication date </Th> <Td> October 27, 1787--May 28, 1788 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Media type </Th> <Td> Newspaper, book </Td> </Tr> <P> The Federalist (later known as The Federalist Papers) is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution . The first 77 of these essays were published serially in the Independent Journal, the New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser between October 1787 and April 1788 . A two - volume compilation of these 77 essays and eight others was published as The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787 by publishing firm J. & A. McLean in March and May 1788 . The collection was commonly known as The Federalist until the name The Federalist Papers emerged in the 20th century . </P> <P> The authors of The Federalist intended to influence the voters to ratify the Constitution . In "Federalist No. 1", they explicitly set that debate in broad political terms: </P>

In the 1780s the publication of the federalist papers was intended to