page_title: Federalist No. 70
section_title: After Independence
hierarchical_section_title: Federalist No. 70 / Contemporaneous opposition to the unitary executive / After Independence
caption_attribution_description: English: First page of the Pennsylvania 1776 Constitution
context_page_description: Federalist No. 70, titled "The Executive Department Further Considered", is an essay written by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the unitary executive provided for in the United States Constitution. It was originally published on March 15, 1788 in The New York Packet under the pseudonym Publius as part of The Federalist Papers and as the fourth in Hamilton's series of eleven essays discussing executive power.
  Hamilton argues that unity in the executive branch is a main ingredient for both energy and safety. Energy arises from the proceedings of a single person, characterized by, "decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch," while safety arises from the unitary executive's unconcealed accountability to the people.
context_section_description: Resistance to the unitary executive began well before the emergence of the Anti-Federalist Papers. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, eleven of the thirteen states established constitutions to replace their charter governments. In a reaction to colonial rule, most of these constitutions were primarily concerned with a declaration of rights and weakening executive power. With the exception of New York, all of these states formed executive councils appointed by their respective legislatures.
  Virginia's Constitution of 1776 provided for an executive and an eight-member privy council elected by ballot in the bicameral legislature. It mandated that the privy council be involved in nearly all executive decisions:
  Let a Privy Council, or Council of State, consisting of eight members, be chosen by joint ballot of both Houses of Assembly, promiscuously from their members, or the people at large, to assist in the administration of government. Let the Governour be President of this Council…
  Pennsylvania's 1776 Constitution, which lasted until 1790, provided for a Supreme Executive Council consisting of twelve members chosen by popular ballot. The council and the unicameral legislature would elect a president from the members of the council, but the president would hold little authority over the council even in regards to military power.
caption: The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 provides for a Supreme Executive Council.
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