How Do I Cite the Federalist Papers: MLA, APA, and Chicago
To cite the Federalist Papers, first decide whether you are citing one essay or the whole collection, then apply your style guide’s rules for a work in an anthology. In MLA 9, cite the individual essay by its author and title, with the collection as the container. In APA 7, list the essay author, year, and “In” the editor and book. In Chicago, use a footnote or note with the essay author and title, plus a bibliography entry for the collection. Across all three styles, the essays have known authors, so they are treated as chapters within a larger book.
What Are the Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are 85 essays written in 1787–1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pen name “Publius” to promote ratification of the U.S. Constitution. They were originally published in New York newspapers and later gathered into book editions. You can view related historical records and the Constitution itself through the National Archives.
Two citation situations come up most often:
- An individual essay. You are quoting or paraphrasing one specific paper, such as Federalist No. 10 or No. 51. Here the essay’s author matters, so you cite the author, not “Publius,” unless your source itself uses the pseudonym.
- The whole collection. You are referring to the book as a whole, so the editor or the collection title leads the citation, depending on the style.
Most editions also carry an editor (commonly Jacob E. Cooke, Clinton Rossiter, or Terence Ball), and that editor’s name belongs in the citation. If you are using an online version, include the website and URL instead of print publication details.
MLA Citation Format
MLA 9 treats each Federalist essay as a work in an anthology. Put the essay author first, then the essay title in quotation marks, then the collection as the container in italics.
Worked example — an individual essay:
Madison, James. “Federalist No. 10.” The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, New American Library, 1961, pp. 77–84.
The order is: Author. “Title of Essay.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor, Publisher, Year, page range.
In-text citation (MLA): (Madison 78) — author and page number, no comma.
The full collection in MLA, when no single essay author applies, starts with the editor:
Rossiter, Clinton, editor. The Federalist Papers. New American Library, 1961.
For more on container rules, see the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
APA Citation Format
APA 7 cites a Federalist essay like a chapter in an edited book. The essay author and year come first, then the essay title in sentence case, then “In” the editor and book title in italics.
Worked example — an individual essay:
Madison, J. (1787/1961). Federalist No. 10. In C. Rossiter (Ed.), The Federalist papers (pp. 77–84). New American Library.
The year format “1787/1961” shows the original publication year followed by the edition you used — APA’s standard way of handling a republished work.
In-text citation (APA): (Madison, 1787/1961) or, with a direct quote, (Madison, 1787/1961, p. 78).
The complete collection in APA is edited, so the editor takes the author position:
Rossiter, C. (Ed.). (1961). The Federalist papers. New American Library.
When an essay has no named author in your source, move the title to the author position. APA in-text citations then use a shortened title in quotation marks: (“Federalist No. 10,” 1787/1961).
Chicago Citation Format
Chicago offers two systems: notes-bibliography (common in history and humanities) and author-date (common in the sciences and social sciences).
Notes-bibliography
Footnote for an individual essay (first, full note):
- James Madison, “Federalist No. 10,” in The Federalist Papers, ed. Clinton Rossiter (New York: New American Library, 1961), 78.
Shortened note (later references):
- Madison, “Federalist No. 10,” 80.
Bibliography entry:
Madison, James. “Federalist No. 10.” In The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, 77–84. New York: New American Library, 1961.
Footnote for the full collection:
- Clinton Rossiter, ed., The Federalist Papers (New York: New American Library, 1961).
Bibliography entry for the collection:
Rossiter, Clinton, ed. The Federalist Papers. New York: New American Library, 1961.
Author-date
Parenthetical (individual essay): (Madison 1961, 78)
Reference list entry:
Madison, James. 1961. “Federalist No. 10.” In The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter, 77–84. New York: New American Library.
Parenthetical (whole collection): (Rossiter 1961)
For primary-source and congressional materials you may cross-check, the Library of Congress and Congress.gov are useful references, though the essays themselves are cited as books, not government documents.
| Style | Essay author position | Container phrase | In-text form |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLA 9 | Author, first name first | The Federalist Papers, edited by… | (Madison 78) |
| APA 7 | Author, initial only | In Editor (Ed.), The Federalist papers | (Madison, 1787/1961, p. 78) |
| Chicago (notes) | Author, first name first | in The Federalist Papers, ed.… | footnote 1 |
| Chicago (author-date) | Author, first name first | In The Federalist Papers, edited by… | (Madison 1961, 78) |
Numbering and Editions
The essays are universally known by number, and that number is part of the title. Always write it as “Federalist No. 10,” not “Federalist 10” or “Paper #10,” so your reader can locate it instantly.
Editions matter more than beginners expect. Three modern editions are widely assigned — the Cooke edition (Wesleyan University Press), the Rossiter edition (New American Library), and the Ball edition (Cambridge University Press) — and each paginates differently. A citation to page 78 in one edition may point to entirely different text in another. That is why every full citation includes publisher and year: they tell the reader which pagination you used.
Key Takeaways
- Decide first whether you are citing one essay or the whole collection — that choice drives the author element in every style.
- In MLA 9, cite the essay author, essay title in quotes, and the collection as the container; in-text is (Madison 78).
- In APA 7, use “Author. (Original year/edition year). Essay title. In Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. pages). Publisher.”
- In Chicago, use a footnote with the essay author and “in” the collection, plus a bibliography entry; author-date uses (Madison 1961, 78).
- Always include the editor’s name and the edition you used, and add a URL or database name for online versions.
- When no author is named in your source, lead with the title instead, and credit “Publius” only if your source deliberately retains the pseudonym.
