While all three men contributed, they each wrote a different number of essays:
* Alexander Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 essays.
* James Madison wrote 29 of the 85 essays.
* John Jay wrote 5 of the 85 essays.
They published their essays under the pseudonym "Publius" in order to avoid any potential bias from their individual reputations. The Federalist Papers played a critical role in persuading the American public to ratify the Constitution.