Who wrote Federalist No. 10, the famous essay on factions?

James Madison wrote Federalist No. 10, the famous essay on factions, under the shared pseudonym Publius. It was published on November 22, 1787, in the New York press.

Madison argued that a large republic could control the dangers of factions better than a small republic. Because many interests would exist across a broad nation, he believed no single faction would easily dominate the whole government. The essay defended the proposed Constitution against Anti-Federalist criticism during the ratification debate.

Alexander Hamilton wrote most Federalist essays, and John Jay contributed several, which sometimes causes readers to misattribute No. 10. Madison’s authorship is established by historical scholarship and later records. Federalist No. 10 is commonly studied alongside Madison’s Federalist No. 51, which discusses checks and balances and the structure of constitutional government.