Federalist 83: “Rules of Commonsense, Adopted by the Courts in the Construction of the Laws” | Hamilton on Juries and on the Interpretation of Law

We typically organize these podcasts around three big ideas from the essay under review – here are three big ideas from Federalist 83. 

Big idea one: In Federalist 83, Hamilton described and sought to refute a claim that the Constitution would eliminate trial by jury in civil cases. 

Big idea two: Hamilton argued in Federalist 83 that jury trials in civil cases were important for the sake of property, but not necessarily important for the sake of liberty 

Big idea three: In Federalist 83 Hamilton offered commentary on the use of juries in specific instances that shed light on more general ideas about juries.