Literature Review

Literature Review
I. Read, identify key points and summarize each of the following federalist papers:
Federalist Paper No. 51
Federalist Paper No. 17
Federalist Paper No. 39
Federalist Paper No. 84
Federalist Paper No. 45
Federalist Paper No. 10
II. Write your Literature Review
a. Summarize each of the federalist papers.
b. Use the following questions to guide your analysis:
i. What does this tell me about American Government?
ii. In which context was this text written? (For which public? In which historical /
conceptual context?)
iii. What kind of evidence, if any, does the author use? (Statistics? Historical sources?
Philosophical arguments?)
iv. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the argument? Is it convincing?
c. Analysis.
i. Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the
structure and workings of American Government. Describe the relationship of each
work to the other papers under consideration.
ii. Use at least 2 sources other than your textbook to assess any strengths or weaknesses
of the arguments found in the federalist papers. (What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the arguments made by the federalists? Are these arguments still valid
to current times?)
d. Conclusion

References – Use at least 2 reliable sources other than your textbook. Your references can be
listed on page 11.