While we're talking about speeches to state legislatures, we can't leave out James Wilson's speech to the Rhode Island legislature, to try to get them to come around to the Federalist way of thinking.

He dismisses concerns that the Federal government will hold too much power by saying that that's kind of paranoid—the most powerful body there is the Legislative branch, and that's made up of representatives from the states. How could the Federal government oppress the people if the peoples' representatives are doing the lawmaking?

On the same subject, Wilson says it's a bit of a stretch to say that the Senate is going to become a pseudo-aristocracy. On one hand, it can't do anything without the House of Representatives' approval…and on the other it can't do anything without the President's approval.

Who, may he add, is only elected by the Electoral College, which is part of the states' legislatures. Wilson supports Madison's claim that the government is carefully made to avoid abusing the power that it's given.