Before the United States Constitution was ratified, the Founding Fathers famously debated the merits and problems of the newly proposed government in a series of public essays that came to be known as the Federalist and Antifederalist Papers.

In this animated documentary, Professor Charles Kesler of Claremont McKenna College and Professor Gordon Lloyd of Pepperdine University discuss the insights of the anonymous authors, “Publius” and “Brutus.” In particular, Brutus, the Antifederalist, voiced prescient concerns about the power of the judiciary despite Publius’ assertion that it would be the weakest branch of the proposed government. Are the insights from both Publius and Brutus still relevant? Was Brutus right about the courts? Should we share Publius’ optimism about “ambition counteracting ambition”?

00:00 Opening
02:57 Title Card
03:05 Publius
04:29 Brutus
05:41 Manifest Tenor & Clear Meaning
07:53 Judicial Power
09:19 (im)Balance of Power
11:38 Credits

* * * * *

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Learn more about Charles Kesler:
https://www.claremont.org/crb/contrib...

Learn more about Gordon Lloyd:
https://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/a...

Related links:

Library of Congress, The Federalist Papers
https://guides.loc.gov/federalistpapers

Introduction to the Antifederalists by Gordon Lloyd
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/r...#targetText=One%20way%20to%20define%20the,case%20antifederalists%20or%20anti%2Dfederalists.

Introduction to the Federalists
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/r...

Charles Kesler on the Importance of the Federalist Papers
   • Video  

Differing views:
The Antifederalist Papers
https://thefederalistpapers.org/anti...

Federalists vs. Antifederalists Explained in 5 minutes
   • Federalists vs AntiFederalists in Fi...  

The Federalists vs. the Antifederalists Debate
   • What is the The Federalists vs. Anti...