Federalist No. 39

Federalist No. 39

James Madison, author of Federalist No. 39
Author	James Madison
Original title	The conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles
Language	English
Series	The Federalist
Publisher	The Independent Journal
Publication date	January 16, 1788
Publication place	United States
Media type	Newspaper
Preceded by	Federalist No. 38
Followed by	Federalist No. 40

Federalist No. 39, titled "The conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles", is an essay by James Madison, the thirty-ninth of The Federalist Papers, first published by The Independent Journal (New York) on January 16, 1788.^[1] Madison defines a republican form of government, and he also considers whether the nation is federal or national: a confederacy, or consolidation of states.

This essay is one of 85 to urge ratification of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, sent these essays to try to sway the remaining nine states to preserve the Federal form of government, with a National government interest.^[2]