 As published in The Daily Advertiser, alongside Federalist No. 9 | |
| Author | Alexander Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Original title | Consequences of Hostilities Between the States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Federalist |
| Publisher | New York Packet |
Publication date | November 20, 1787 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Newspaper |
| Preceded by | Federalist No. 7 |
| Followed by | Federalist No. 9 |
| Text | Federalist No. 8 at Wikisource |
Federalist No. 8, titled "Consequences of Hostilities Between the States", is a political essay by Alexander Hamilton and the eighth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in the New-York Packet on November 20, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. It was a response to critics of a national standing army, and it examines a scenario in which the states of the United States are not unified and military conflict occurs between them.
Federalist No. 8 argues that if the states are not unified and come into military conflict with one another, then they will be forced to maintain standing armies. These armies would then infringe on civil liberties and cause despotism. It says that the United States should prefer a single army at the national level, as this would be easier to control. The essay describes geography as a factor in the maintenance of an army, saying that the ocean protects the United States from European invasion but would not protect the states from one another. These ideas were revisited in Federalist No. 24 through No. 29. Since the publication of Federalist No. 8, Hamilton's description of the United States as safe from invasion has generally proved correct, and the U.S. created a permanent standing army following World War II.