At the beginning of his journey to America, Tocqueville knew little about the federal structures of the USA. In one of his first conversations, he remarked to a farmer from Georgia: “Your country is composed of small, almost completely different nations” (OC V, 1, 102). He later discussed his doubts about the construction of the Union with leading politicians, judges, and scientists, including James Kent, the first professor of law at Columbia University and a judge at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, who sent him the volumes of his recently published Commentaries on American Law. Kent also drew Tocqueville’s attention to the Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, which he began to read during his journey. The articles of the Federalist Papers were published between October 27, 1787, and May 28, 1788, with the aim of securing a majority for the draft constitution negotiated in Philadelphia. The new constitution was intended to replace the Confederation Constitution, which the 13 American colonies had adopted during the War of Independence (1775‒1783). However, after the end of the war, this constitution was generally considered inadequate to establish the economic, political, and military unity of the Union.