The Authorship of the Letters from the Federal Farmer

Governing With One Hand on the Plow

“…Critics have noted the impact of the Antifederalists on the shaping of the constitution. Wood (1991), for example, wrote, The Anti-Federalists lost the battle over the Constitution. But they did not lose the war over the kind of national government that the United States would have for a good part, at least of the next century (p. 259).…”

“…Although Wood (1991) contended that the departure point between the Antifederalists views on government and our modern system was the Progressive Era, others scholars argue differently. Rohr (1986) pointed out that the modern administrative state answers some of the Antifederalists' criticisms regarding the Constitution's structuring of the legislative branch.…”

“…At the conclusion of his 18 essays—the last published January 25, 1788—he was one of the most intelligent critics of the Constitution. The authorship of “Letters from the Federal Farmer” is still a matter of debate, but most scholars lean toward Melancton Smith, Richard Henry Lee, or a “Publius” style combination of the two (Webking, 1987; Wood, 1974). No matter whom the author(s) was or were, the letters were writing from a New York that was overwhelmingly dominated by Federalists.…”

George Mason and the Ambiguity of Executive Power

“…Because there is some dispute as to whether Richard Henry Lee is the author of the Federal Farmer letters, I have chosen to distinguish between the two. For a discussion of the Federal Farmer’s authorship, see Wood (), Ketcham (), Storing (), and Zuckert and Webb ().…”