The United States, as we know it today, was born in an anonymous debate. On September 27, 1787, an anonymous writer using the pen-name “Cato” wrote an essay for the New York press, criticising the proposed US constitution, which was then awaiting ratification by the states. Cautioning against an overly-powerful executive and the establishment of a standing army, the essay soon triggered a response from “Publius,” another pseudonymous author, who argued in favour of the new constitution. By then a third pesudonymous critic, “Brutus,” had also entered the debate. Behind the pseudonyms swirling around the media were some of the greatest minds of the day: George Clinton, Robert Yates, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. The full collection of their essays are now known as the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers and their discussion captured the attention of American society. Ultimately, it led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights. Historians still disagree on why so many enlightenment-era intellectuals wrote under nom de plumes. For some, it was to escape state persecution. Voltaire, whose real identity was known, was imprisoned several times by the French government for his sharp critiques of the aristocracy. For the German philosopher Fichte, anonymity meant that arguments and ideas would be judged on