Federalist No. 20 - Crippling Unanimity - TPF20

Hamilton and Madison return with one last example of a failed confederacy.  This time they discuss The United Netherlands.  As Cary points out, once again things look good on paper for The United Netherlands, but in practice they didn’t work out well.  One key provision that held it back was the requirement for unanimous consent among its members.  Ultimately, the authors end this section of the Federalist Papers with a resounding conclusion that a confederacy, as a form of government, will not work for The United States of America.