Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between States

Alexander Hamilton

The previous three papers (Federalist No. 3-5) focused on the dangers from foreign nations to a state of disunion. Federalist No. 6 begins the discussion of the dangers of dissensions between the States themselves. Hamilton contends that, “the subdivisions into which [the States] might be thrown would have frequent and violent contests with each other … To look for a continuation of harmony between a number of independent, unconnected sovereignties in the same neighborhood, would be to disregard the uniform course of human events, and to set at defiance the accumulated experience of ages.”

Hamilton explained that, “the causes of hostility among nations [were] innumerable.” For Federalist No. 6, Hamilton highlighted a few that would likely become issues between the disunited States, such as, “jealousy of power, or the desire of equality and safety, … [or] in [the] private passions of leading individuals in the communities of which they are members.” The anti-Federalists argued that commerce was pacific (that is a pacifier).

 “The spirit of commerce has a tendency to soften the manners of men, and to extinguish those inflammable humors which have so often kindled wars. Commercial republics, like ours, will never be disposed to waste themselves in ruinous contentions with each other. They will be governed by mutual interest, and will cultivate a spirit of mutual amity and concord.”

In short, the anti-Federalists contended that commerce among the States would be sufficient to ensuring the peace between them. Hamilton was skeptical stating that, “rival ships and competitions of commerce between commercial nations,” was another cause of hostility between nations. Hamilton argued that international commerce had not pacified the world, but instead, had merely changed the reasons for war. Hamilton provided evidence for his position, showing that Athens and Carthage were commercial republics and yet were often engaged, either aggressively or defensively, in conflict with neighboring monarchies. More recently to 1776, Hamilton highlighted Britain as an example. Britain was a government with one branch of the national legislature composed of the people’s representatives. Britain had for a long time been a country predominantly concerned with commerce. Yet, Hamilton said, “few nations, nevertheless, have been more frequently engaged in war; and the wars in which that kingdom has been engaged have, in numerous instances, proceeded from the people.”

In that final passage, Hamilton highlights that representative republics are not immune from waring for commercial causes. Hamilton returned to his previous argument for a Union of the States. What commercial cause for war that any of the States may have with another State would involve just the governments of those two States. Tempers or jealousies of those two States would make warring between them more likely rather than less likely. Hamilton provided the following passage:

“Neighboring nations are naturally enemies of each other unless their common weakness forces them to league in a Confederate Republic, and their Constitution prevents the differences that neighborhood occasions, extinguishing that secret jealousy which disposes all states to aggrandize themselves at the expense of their neighbors.”

For Hamilton, this meant that, unless the individual States recognized the inherent weakness of isolation, and ratified a Constitution bounding them together under a central, limited authority, the States were bound to fall into conflict among themselves.

This Federalist Paper goes a long way in explaining the enumerated Congressional powers in Section 1 Article 8 of the US Constitution. The Congressional powers were supposed to be very limited, and were to be used to provide levels of uniformity between the States in the areas of regulation of commerce, establishing the currency, establishing the Post Offices and Post Roads, to declare war, and managing the legislation needed for the US military and militias. The legislation in support of Section 1 Article 8 of the US Constitution, being drafted and passed by the representatives of the people and the States, was the mechanism by which conflicts between States could be mitigated.