摘要
美國在新憲法建立之前，歷經兩個主要的階段：一是殖民時期，二是邦聯政府時期。前一階段讓殖民地人士飽嘗國家暴力之惡，接著邦聯時期面臨因國家無能而產生的國內外紛擾，故有《聯邦論》以催生新憲，建立新國家。歷史的經驗使得《聯邦論》作者倡議聯邦制，使得國家有能力應付內憂外患，而新國家不能重返暴虐統治之路，根本之道在於是否能有效地控制派系之病。故《聯邦論》提出兩項針貶之道：一是大共和國論，二是分權與制衡。大共和國旨在統一北美十三邦，賦予新國家力量以應付危機；而對派系而言，大共和國藉著廣大的領土與人口以稀釋派系的作用。分權與制衡則對派系有切割的效應，兩者的相輔相成，使得多數派系不能集結，少數派系也不能取得主導的力量，而後形成美國的多元社會。
並列摘要
Two periods of historical experience played important roles in the birth of the U.S. First was the colonial era, which gave its people a close look at the tyrannical rule of a powerful state. Second, the era of the Confederation of American gave its people a bitter taste of the counterpart of a strong government: a loose confederation was unable to save its people from continual crises. That situation was that of a double-bladed of a sword: either a powerful of weak state would bring disaster to the people. To cure the disease, the Federalist Papers provided its prescription: the theory of the large republic and separation of powers. The large-republic-theory suggested a more centralized federation of thirteen states, which was given more power by people to deal with its numerous challenges. And, to prevent the development of oppression, the Federalist Papers argued that the key was to control the destructive effect of factions. Due to the large territory and population, a large republic could dilute the effect of the factions. As a result, it became difficult for a dominant faction to gain any degree of broad social influence. The separation of powers, on the other hand, could break down a large faction into small ones. At last the goal of a pluralistic society would come true.