Federalist No. 4

Federalist No. 4

John Jay, author of Federalist No. 4
Author	John Jay
Original title	The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence
Language	English
Series	The Federalist
Publisher	The Independent Journal
Publication date	November 7, 1787
Publication place	United States
Media type	Newspaper
Preceded by	Federalist No. 3
Followed by	Federalist No. 5
Text	Federalist No. 4 at Wikisource

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.