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The Federalist No. 20: The Same Subject Continued (The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union)

Alexander Hamilton; James Madison · The Avalon Project, Yale Law School · 1787

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Web page
Author
Alexander Hamilton; James Madison
Accessed
2026-09-01
Reliability notes
First published in the New York Packet, 11 December 1787.

Claims citing this source

2 claims
EstablishedIn the Dutch Republic sovereignty lay with the seven provinces, each with one vote in the States General; the States General could make treaties, war and peace, raise armies and fleets and assess provincial contributions, but such decisions required unanimity and the sanction of the provinces.EstablishedThe Federalist No. 20 (1787) cited the United Netherlands as a warning, stating that in important cases 'not only the provinces but the cities must be unanimous' and summarising the results as 'Imbecility in the government; discord among the provinces; foreign influence and indignities'.