This digest discusses: (1) the main ideas contained in "The Federalist Papers"; (2) reasons for teaching "The Federalist Papers" in secondary schools; and (3) how to teach ideas of "The Federalist Papers." The authors of "The Federalist" held varying ideas about government, but strongly agreed on the fundamental ideas of republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, and free government. Ideas of "The Federalist" are essential elements of education for citizenship in the U.S. constitutional democracy, and they are keys to understanding how U.S. government works. Ideas of "The Federalist Papers" are congruent with the content of standard secondary social studies courses and can be infused into those courses. They can be used to teach core concepts of U.S. constitutional government, and excerpts from selected essays can be utilized to explicate these civic concepts. Ideas of "The Federalist" can be used to encourage deliberation, reflection, and rational decision-making. Teachers can abbreviate, annotate, and otherwise edit selections from the documents to aid comprehension and interpretation of main ideas by students. References and ERIC resources are given. (SM)