The Federalist Papers, Federalist No. 6 summary

What happens

1. Hamilton shifts attention from foreign threats to conflict among separated States and unrest within them.
2. He identifies struggles for power, commercial rivalry, and influential individuals’ private motives as causes of war.
3. Examples involving Pericles, Wolsey, and Shays show how personal interests can endanger whole communities.
4. He rejects the claim that republican government and commerce prevent war, citing ancient republics and European trading powers.
5. A dispute over illegal British trade illustrates how commercial grievances and public anger produce international conflict.
6. He points to American unrest and concludes that constitutional union can restrain hostility between neighboring states.

In this paper

What to notice

The question directly challenges the claim that trade guarantees peace. Hamilton’s examples make commercial rivalry another source of conflict.

Quick check