Federalist No. 4, titled "The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence", is a political essay by John Jay and the fourth of The Federalist Papers. It was first published in The Independent Journal on November 7, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. It is the third of four essays by Jay discussing the protection of the United States from dangerous foreign influence and military conflict. It directly continued the argument made in Federalist No. 3, and it was further continued in Federalist No. 5.
Federalist No. 4 addresses the possibility of European nations engaging in wars of aggression against the United States. Jay argued that union between the states would prevent foreign nations from conquering the United States or causing division between the states, citing the advantages of a unified militia over several disparate forces and the ability of a federal government to consider the interests of all the states. Federalist No. 4 represents a strong example of Jay's preference for centralized government and his skepticism of individual state governments. Since the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, foreign attacks against the United States have been exceedingly rare.
Summary
Jay begins by explaining that the United States must prevent itself from being the target of unjust war. He says that nations could seek war any time that there is benefit in doing so. He considers that an absolute monarch might seek war personal reasons, such as glory, revenge, or ambition. He also describes an economic incentive for nations to come into conflict with the United States to maintain control over international trade. He concludes from these reasons that any advancement of the United States will draw the attention of European nations and increase diplomatic tensions.
Jay argues that to prevent conflict with European nations, the United States must strengthen its national government through union of the states. He uses the British Armed Forces and British militias as an example, citing their strength as a unified force rather than being the individual forces of England, Scotland, and Wales. He argues that a combined militia under a single federal government would be far more effective than separate state militias, saying that an American militia could protect any part of the country that was under threat by concentrating its resources there. This, Jay says, is not true for thirteen individual militias.
Jay also warns against political interference from European powers. He says that if America were split into three or four confederacies, they might each be supported by a different European nation, such as Britain, France, and Spain. These confederacies could then easily be motivated to ignore conflicts in the others or even to fight each other on behalf of the European powers. He concludes the essay by warning that internal division would do harm to the United States.
Background and publication
Federalist No. 4 was written by John Jay. Like all of the Federalist Papers, Federalist No. 4 was published under the pseudonym Publius in New York newspapers with the intention of explaining the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and persuading New York to ratify it. It was first published in the Independent Journal on November 7, 1787, followed by the Daily Advertiser on November 8 and the New-York Packet on November 9. In the latter paper, it was incorrectly labeled Federalist No. 3. Federalist No. 4 continued the argument from Federalist No. 3. While No. 3 advocated for union to protect from just war, No. 4 advanced this idea by arguing that union also protects from unjust war. No. 4 reinforced and complemented many of the ideas presented in No. 3, establishing a dual argument for union to protect from foreign conflict.
Analysis
In Federalist No. 4, Jay argued that a unified federal government was necessary to protect the states from foreign conquest. He worried that without union between the states, other nations may be incentivized to wage war, as there would be no federal administration to organize the states and economic advantages would be easier to seize. Jay considered it to be in a state's interest not only to protect its own security, but to protect that of the other states as well. His conception of government in this sense is similar to that of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, identifying it as an alliance of mutual preservation. Throughout the essay, Jay reiterates his support for centralized government, going so far as to refer to the states as a family.