Who Abandoned Whom Consistency of Constitutional Interpretations of Hamilton and Madison

Abstract

Both Hamilton and Madison claim to have been abandoned by the other when it comes to their interpretation of the constitution as written in the Federalist Papers. Until now, no author has attempted to answer whether their constitutional positions on economic questions is consistent with their interpretation of the constitution in the Federalist Papers. To answer this question, I examine claims of constitutionality related to trade policy and central banking made by both Hamilton and Madison and compare such positions to Federalist Papers written by each author. Both authors are broadly consistent over time and therefore cannot justly claim to have been abandoned by the other.