Worksheet for identifying primary and secondary sources answers

HIS 100 Theme 2: Secondary Source Analysis Worksheet
Prompt: Fill in each of the fields below using information from a secondary source of your choice. Be sure to include specific examples (page numbers, etc.).

Full APA citation:

Meyerson, M. (2009). Liberty's Blueprint : How Madison and Hamilton wrote the Federalist Papers, defined the Constitution, and made democracy safe for the world. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books.

Identify the author and describe potential biases.

Meyerson served as an instructor at Brooklyn Law School for three years after which he joined the faculty. He also served as a consumer affairs attorney for the State of New York State Consumer Protection. Meyer has written several books and published many articles on constitutional laws, and the First Amendment contrast law in those positions. He serves as a member of the New York Bar. This position could bias him in his work to State, but this is not the case from his work.

Identify the thesis and arguments.

There have been many arguments trying to explain who the writer of Federalist was, a series of essays that expound on the ratification of the constitution. Meyerson explains that Madison and Hamilton were at the core of reviewing the constitution that advocated for a new system of government, and how the government should operate. The Federalist was the most outstanding commentary of the eighteenth century, although the author di8d it in secret to reveal the nobility of the information being conveyed.

Although the authors wrote their work, they could not continue doing secretly since many of the affiliated allies were suspecting their involvement. James Kent of New disclosed that Hamilton must have been the author of Publius (P.2). Henry Knox also attributed the essays to Mr Jay, Madison, and Hamilton. Despite the numerous attempts to conceal the identity of the authors, the suspicion arose, and many individuals were attributing the essays to the two authors; Madison and Hamilton. It was not long before the two authors disclosed their role in the publication, and political and personal differences that existed between Madison and Hamilton resulted in the acceptance of the involvement in the publication by Hamilton although no information distinguished who wrote which essay (P. 4). Before his death, Hamilton disclosed about his contribution in the authorship of the books, identifying which essays he had written in Judge Egbert Benson's Office (P. 4). However, the number of essays attributed to Madison remains a secret since he refused to explain even when requested.

The list that attributed the different essays to the authorship of the three; Hamilton, Madison, and Jay was revisited when Madison gave his copy of the original publication with the specific names of the authors of the various essays. The copy was published, and Madison reaffirmed the accuracy of the copy as the original author of the various articles within the Federalist. After the review and extensive study of the essays, Madison copy was reaffirmed as the most authentic. However, there remains a controversy even after utilization of stylometrics to evaluate who the true author of the Federalist was. Still, it is not clear to establish since both Hamilton and Madison used similar styles of writing (P. 6). Hamilton was given the credit of writing the essays that wer4e in dispute, although there is no clarity as to the reason two people who collaborated in writing and contributed immensely, became bitter enemies to such an extent.

What primary sources did the source rely on?

The source relied on researches done by other authors such as historians, and publications regarding the list of essays that were attributed to Hamilton and Madison, and their contribution to drafting the constitution of the United States.

Is the source reliable and convincing? Why or why not?

The source is reliable since the author has not expressed dissatisfaction with the given information about the likely author of the essays but attributes all of them based on the gathered information.

How does the source relate to your project topic? How does it add to what you already know about the topic?

Federalist was at the core of demanding for the reforms in the constitution and the political system of the United States. Federalist is credited for its role in the reformation of the constitution.