The Federalist Papers are both an indispensable guide to understanding the Constitution and a classic work of political science. This course has a simple objective: to read The Federalist Papers in their entirety, and in the process to learn about the key principles underlying the Constitution. We will occasionally read anti-Federalist writings and other sources for context, but our principal focus will be The Federalist Papers themselves. This is not a lecture course; the goal is for each class meeting to be a collaborative discussion of the week's assigned reading. Students will be graded on a pass-fail basis. To earn a passing grade, a student must do the reading, participate in class discussion, and (at the end of the course) write a five-page essay addressing the The Federalist Papers' relevance to any current legal, policy or cultural issue of the student's choice.