Today in History: October 27

A New America, NYC Subway, Hiring a Hitman, Birthdays & More

Author

Cameron Bartkoski
October 27, 2023

Good morning and welcome to Today In History. Your daily dose of history and nostalgia.

Read time ~ 5 min

  • Advocation for the Constitution

  • World Events

  • The Northeast

  • Just For Fun

  • Birthdays & Deaths

The Federalist Papers (1787)

New Yorker reads aloud The Federalist Papers

Setting The Scene

Today we’re going back 236 years to 1787. The United States is just 4 years removed from winning the American Revolutionary War, now working on the Constitution. The French Revolution is just 2 years away and the British Empire reigns supreme with large settlements overseas, spanning from North America to Africa. Slavery is still widely practiced, primarily in the American south and the Caribbean. And although transportation and medicine are limited, the Industrial Revolution has just begun in England.

Now that you’re here with me, let’s focus in on Northeastern America, the heart of the political scene. The Constitutional Convention is underway in Philadelphia. Most towns are close-knit communities, centering primarily in religious gathering and town meetings. Just outside the town lives a rural and agrarian society.

What Happened?

It’s the morning of October 27, 1787. You take a slow ride into town on your horse following the dirt path, passing many farms and livestock. You’ve come to town for trade and to hire a local craftsman, meanwhile you’ll stop to talk local politics and grab the morning paper. At the newsstand, you notice that three of the major papers have an advertisement for The Federalist by Publius. Publius would turn out to be the pseudonym for the writing trio of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Wondering what the fuss is about, you begin reading and realize that it’s a call to ratify the Constitution. In Federalist No. 1, the authors argue:

“It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force.”

Impact

The Federalist Papers would see huge demand, with the trio publishing 3 to 4 times a week. Over the next 7 months, the group would publish a collection of 77 essays, reaching a total of 85 by the end of 1788. These essays would have a profound and lasting impact on American politics. Americans could now understand the constitution and the concept of Federalism, revolutionizing American political thought. This also led the the early development of political parties, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

What else happened?

World Events

Christopher Columbus in Cuba

The Northeast

The NYC Subway in 1904

Just For Fun

James Dean and Natalie Wood

  • Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean and Natalie Wood is released. (1955)

  • Larry Flynt pays hitman $1 million to kill Hugh Hefner, Frank Sinatra and 2 others. (1983)

  • Elon Musk takes ownership and control of Twitter. (2022)

Birthdays

Deaths