During the formation of the United States government, and preceding the adoption of its Constitution, a series of letters were sent by three men in support of the proposed Constitution to the editors of a number of prominent newspapers, from October of 1787 to April of 1788. These men were John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. The composite of what they wrote is arguably the finest treatise ever written on political philosophy. It reflects the heart and soul of the American system of government, and the intent of its founders. Forty-six of the letters advocate a strong central government under which certain rights were reserved to the states – this shared system of state and federal control, emphasizing central control, is called federalism; and its adherents were known as federalists. Hence, the collective title of these papers. To encourage a fair reading on the merits of the case presented, they each signed their letter “Publius.”

In our current era, the Executive branch is striving to reassert its independence. It wants to be acknowledged as a "separate but equal" federal branch, rather than being a mere agent of the Legislative Branch; it believes it has been kept on a short leash by the Judicial Branch far too long. Meanwhile, the Judicial Branch continues to exercise legislative and executive powers which the Founders never intended. They understood that the federal Judiciary would be tempted to abuse its power because it is unelected, and therefore unaccountable. The Constitution thus restricts the Judicial domain to judging the laws and their enforcement against a strictly constructed Consititution. The NSA lawsuit of 2006 reflects this ongoing struggle for power and control between the three branches that I described 30 years ago. The Leviathan grows because the American people have been convinced that government is somehow a force for good rather than a necessary evil. I believe our Founders would be appalled at the thought.