Video: Federalist Papers, Amending the Articles of the Confederation
(Img: Heritage Auctions, Dallas) Although the first constitution, the Articles of Confederation was far from perfect, Americans saw the second draft of the Constitution as posing a threat to the rights of state governments. In response, founding fathers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay produced a series of propaganda essays that were published in American newspapers. The beliefs put forward by these essays would later shape American politics.