Federalist No. 29

Federalist No. 29

Alexander Hamilton, author of Federalist No. 29
Author	Alexander Hamilton
Original title	Concerning the Militia
Language	English
Series	The Federalist
Publisher	The Independent Journal
Publication date	January 9, 1788
Publication place	United States
Media type	Newspaper
Preceded by	Federalist No. 28
Followed by	Federalist No. 30

Federalist Paper No. 29 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the twenty-ninth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in The Independent Journal on January 9, 1788 under the pseudonym Publius,^[1] the name under which all The Federalist papers were published. It is titled "Concerning the Militia". Unlike the rest of the Federalist Papers, which were published more or less in order, No. 29 did not appear until after Federalist No. 36.

Hamilton states that a well-regulated militia composed of the people will be more uniform and beneficial to the "public defense" of Americans. He argues that an excessively large militia can harm a nation's work force, as not everyone can leave their profession to go through military exercises. Thus, a smaller, but still well-regulated militia, is the answer. In the end, Hamilton concludes that the militia, as it is constituted directly of the people and managed by the states, is not a danger to liberty when called into use by other states to do things such as quell insurrections.