Today, we celebrate the 238th anniversary of the publication of the very first essay in The Federalist Papers. Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist No. 1 from Oct. 27, 1787, marks the start of a seminal work in political philosophy by Hamilton and his compatriots James Madison and John Jay, all sharing the pseudonym Publius. But perhaps just as importantly, the essay demonstrates the need for vigilance in supporting civil discourse.  

With Federalist No. 1, Hamilton launched Publius’s project to defend the structure and purposes of the proposed new U.S. Constitution. Federalist No. 1 was an essay heralding a true time for choosing, to borrow a line Ronald Reagan would use centuries later on this day as well, Oct. 27, 1964. Hamilton argued that the new Constitution was “the safest course for your liberty, your dignity, and your happiness,” and he proposed to discuss the particulars of why “in a series of papers” we now know as The Federalist Papers.