[sammyg2]

MRM nailed it, I knew there was a reason I liked that guy's posts.
I have to admit that I struggle with the federalist papers' wordiness, I have to read some passages several times in order to comprehend but it's time well spent. I prefer Madison's work over Hamilton's but they were both profound. The paper MRM was refering to was written by John Jay IIRC. I should learn more about that guy. I don't have a clue who he was.
They did more to create this country than any other, including George Washington. It's all there, just as if you were stting at a table watching our founding fathers argue about what this government should be and should not be and how they came to the decisions they did. It also sheds light on the interpretation of the constitution and how they imagined it should be.
I'm surprised the anti-gun people don't use it more. With a tad bit of a slant they could say that the right to bear arms wasn't intended to be a personal right but instead a right for the states to form and maintain their own militias independent from the national army. Kind of like a bit of freedom in case the federal government got out of control. The debate of whether we should have a strong or weak federal government is all through the federalist papers.