For Archibald McLean, The Federalist Papers were a dreadful flop, an unfortunate publishing venture best forgotten.
If success was to be measured by book sales alone, The Federalist would be considered an outright failure. It doesn't seem obvious to me that Hamilton or Madison intended to make money, at least not a fortune, from the publication of this book. No one asked them to write this. Furthermore, it was a big risk. Seven months of constant scribbling, and for what? That maybe, maybe, those reading it would have a change of opinion. It seems that this "masterpiece" was written out of love for the cause. It seems that many of the best endeavours are pursued based on measures that are not strictly limited to financial advancement, but that financial advancement can be an indicator or tail of the endeavors' success.
