an essay about james madison

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James Madison

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 22, 2022 | Original: October 29, 2009

James Madison (1751-1836) was a Founding Father of the United States and the fourth American president, serving in office from 1809 to 1817. An advocate for a strong federal government, the Virginia-born Madison composed the first drafts of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and earned the nickname “Father of the Constitution.” 

In 1792, Madison and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) founded the Democratic-Republican Party, which has been called America’s first opposition political party. When Jefferson became the third U.S. president, Madison served as his secretary of state. In this role, he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase from the French in 1803. During his presidency, Madison led the U.S. into the controversial War of 1812 (1812-15) against Great Britain. After two terms in the White House, Madison retired to his Virginia plantation, Montpelier, with his wife Dolley (1768-1849).

Early Years

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia , to James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison. The oldest of 12 children, Madison was raised on the family plantation, Montpelier, in Orange County, Virginia. At age 18, Madison left Montpelier to attend the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

Did you know? Montpelier, James Madison's Virginia plantation home, was established by his grandfather in 1723. An estimated 100 enslaved people lived at Montpelier when Madison owned it. The property was sold after this death. Today the estate, which covers some 2,600 acres, is open to the public.

After graduation, Madison took an interest in the relationship between the American colonies and Britain, which had grown tumultuous over the issue of British taxation. When Virginia began preparing for the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), Madison was appointed a colonel in the Orange County militia. Small in stature and sickly, he soon gave up a military career for a political one. In 1776, he represented Orange County at the Virginia Constitution Convention to organize a new state government no longer under British rule.

During his work in the Virginia legislature, Madison met lifelong friend Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. As a politician, Madison often fought for religious freedom, believing it was an individual’s right from birth.

In 1780, Madison became a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He left Congress in 1783 to return to the Virginia assembly and work on a religious freedom statute, though he would soon be called back to Congress to help create a new constitution.

Father of the Constitution

After the colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, the Articles of Confederation were created as the first constitution of the United States. The Articles were ratified in 1781 and gave most of the power to the individual state legislatures who acted more like individual countries than a union. This structure left the national Congress weak, with no ability to properly manage federal debt or maintain a national army.

Madison, after undertaking an extensive study of other world governments, came to the conclusion that America needed a strong federal government in order to help regulate the state legislatures and create a better system for raising federal money. He felt the government should be set up with a system of checks and balances so no branch had greater power over the other. Madison also suggested that governors and judges have enhanced roles in government in order to help manage the state legislatures.

In May 1787, delegates from each state came together at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and Madison was able to present his ideas for an effective government system in his “Virginia Plan,” which detailed a government with three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. This plan would form the basis of the U.S. Constitution . Madison took detailed notes during debates at the convention, which helped to further shape the U.S. Constitution and led to his moniker: “Father of the Constitution.” (Madison stated the Constitution was not “the off-spring of a single brain,” but instead, “the work of many heads and many hands.”)

Ratifying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Once the new constitution was written, it needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 states. This was not an easy process, as many states felt the Constitution gave the federal government too much power. Supporters of the Constitution were known as Federalists , while critics were called Anti-Federalists.

Madison played a strong role in the ratification process and wrote a number of essays outlining his support for the Constitution. His writings, along with those penned by other advocates, were released anonymously under the title “The Federalist,” a series of 85 essays produced between 1787 and 1788. After extensive debate, the U.S. Constitution was signed by members of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787. The document was ratified by the states in 1788 and the new government became functional the following year.

Bill of Rights

Madison was elected to the newly formed U.S. House of Representatives , where he served from 1789 to 1797. In Congress, he worked to draft the Bill of Rights , a group of 10 amendments to the Constitution that spelled out fundamental rights (such as freedom of speech and religion) held by U.S. citizens. The Bill of Rights was ratified by the states in 1791.

In the new, more powerful Congress, Madison and Jefferson soon found themselves disagreeing with the Federalists on key issues dealing with federal debt and power. For example, the two men favored states’ rights and opposed Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton ’s (c. 1755-1804) proposal for a national bank, the Bank of the United States . 

In 1792, Jefferson and Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party, which has been labeled America’s first opposition political party. Jefferson, Madison and James Monroe (1758-1831) were the only Democratic-Republicans ever to become U.S. presidents, as the party divided into competing factions in the 1820s.

Dolley Madison

Madison also had a new development in his personal life: In 1794, after a brief courtship, the 43-year-old Madison married 26-year-old Dolley Payne Todd (1768-1849), an outgoing Quaker widow with one son. Dolley’s personality contrasted sharply with that of the quiet, reserved Madison. She loved entertaining and hosted many receptions and dinner parties during which Madison could meet other influential figures of his time. During the couple’s 41-year marriage, Dolley Madison and James Madison were reportedly rarely apart.

James Madison, Secretary of State: 1801-09

Through the years, Madison’s friendship with Jefferson would continue to thrive. When Jefferson became the third president of the United States, he appointed Madison as secretary of state. In this position, which he held from 1801 to 1809, Madison helped acquire the Louisiana Territory from the French in 1803. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of America.

In 1807, Madison and Jefferson enacted an embargo on all trade with Britain and France. The two European countries were at war and, angered by America’s neutrality, they had begun attacking U.S. ships at sea. However, the embargo hurt America and its merchants and sailors more than Europe, which did not need the American goods. Jefferson ended the embargo in 1809 as he left office.

James Madison, Fourth President and the War of 1812

In the presidential election of 1808, Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1745-1825) to become the nation’s fourth chief executive. Madison continued to face problems from overseas, as Britain and France had continued their attacks on American ships following the embargo. In addition to impeding U.S. trade, Britain took U.S. sailors for its own navy and began supporting American Indians in battles against U.S. settlers.

In retaliation, Madison issued a war proclamation against Britain in 1812. However, America was not ready for a war. Congress had not properly funded or prepared an army, and a number of the states did not support what was referred to as “Mr. Madison’s War” and would not allow their militias to join the campaign. Despite these setbacks, American forces attempted to fight off and attack British forces. The U.S. met defeat much of the time both on land and at sea, but its well-built ships proved to be formidable foes.

As the War of 1812 continued, Madison ran for re-election against Federalist candidate DeWitt Clinton (1767-1828), who was also supported by an anti-war faction of the Democratic-Republican Party, and won. Despite the victory, Madison was often criticized and blamed for the difficulties stemming from the war. Trade stopped between the U.S. and Europe, hurting American merchants once again. New England threatened secession from the Union. The Federalists undermined Madison’s efforts; and Madison was forced to flee Washington, D.C., in August 1814 as British troops invaded and burned buildings, including the White House , the Capitol and the Library of Congress .

Finally, weary from battle, Britain and the U.S. agreed to negotiate an end to the war. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814 in Europe. Before word of the peace agreement reached America, a major victory for U.S. troops at the Battle of New Orleans (December 1814-January 1815) helped shine a positive light on the controversial war. Though the war was mismanaged, there were some key victories that emboldened the Americans. Once blamed for the errors in the war, Madison was eventually hailed for its triumphs.

Final Years

After two terms in office, Madison left Washington, D.C., in 1817, and returned to Montpelier with his wife. Despite the challenges he encountered during his presidency, Madison was respected as a great thinker, communicator and statesman. He remained active in various civic causes, and in 1826 became rector of the University of Virginia, which was founded by his friend Thomas Jefferson. Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836, at the age of 85, from heart failure.

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The father of the Constitution

• Madison’s presidency
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• What did James Madison accomplish? 
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Reentering the Virginia legislature in 1784, Madison defeated Patrick Henry ’s bill to give financial support to “teachers of the Christian religion.” To avoid the political effect of his extreme nationalism , he persuaded the states-rights advocate John Tyler to sponsor the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which, aided by Madison’s influence, produced the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

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There his Virginia, or large-state, Plan , put forward through Governor Edmund Randolph , furnished the basic framework and guiding principles of the Constitution , earning him the title of father of the Constitution . Madison believed keenly in the value of a strong government in which power was well controlled because it was well balanced among the branches. Delegate William Pierce of Georgia wrote that, in the management of every great question, Madison “always comes forward the best informed Man of any point in debate.” Pierce called him “a Gentleman of great modesty—with a remarkable sweet temper. He is easy and unreserved among his acquaintances, and has a most agreeable style of conversation.”

Madison took day-by-day notes of debates at the Constitutional Convention, which furnish the only comprehensive history of the proceedings. To promote ratification he collaborated with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in newspaper publication of the Federalist papers (Madison wrote 29 out of 85), which became the standard commentary on the Constitution. His influence produced ratification by Virginia and led John Marshall to say that, if eloquence included “persuasion by convincing, Mr. Madison was the most eloquent man I ever heard.”

Elected to the new House of Representatives, Madison sponsored the first 10 amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights —placing emphasis in debate on freedom of religion, speech, and press. His leadership in the House, which caused the Massachusetts congressman Fisher Ames to call him “our first man,” came to an end when he split with Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton over methods of funding the war debts. Hamilton’s aim was to strengthen the national government by cementing men of wealth to it; Madison sought to protect the interests of Revolutionary veterans.

Hamilton’s victory turned Madison into a strict constructionist of the congressional power to appropriate for the general welfare . He denied the existence of implied power to establish a national bank to aid the Treasury . Later, as president , he asked for and obtained a bank as “almost [a] necessity” for that purpose, but he contended that it was constitutional only because Hamilton’s bank had gone without constitutional challenge. Unwillingness to admit error was a lifelong characteristic. The break over funding split Congress into Madisonian and Hamiltonian factions, with Fisher Ames now calling Madison a “desperate party leader” who enforced a discipline “as severe as the Prussian.” (Madisonians turned into Jeffersonians after Jefferson, having returned from France , became secretary of state.)

In 1794 Madison married a widow, Dolley Payne Todd ( Dolley Madison ), a handsome, buxom, vivacious Quaker 17 years his junior, who rejected church discipline and loved social activities. Her first husband had died in the yellow fever epidemic the previous year. She periodically served as official hostess for President Jefferson, who was a widower. As Madison’s wife, she became a fixture at soirées, usually wearing a colourful feathered turban and an elegant dress ornamented with jewelry and furs. She may be said to have created the role of first lady as a political partner of the president, although that label did not come into use until much later. An unpretentious woman, she ate heartily, gambled, rouged her face lavishly, and took snuff. The “Wednesday drawing rooms” that she instituted for the public added to her popularity. She earned the nation’s undying gratitude for rescuing a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington in 1814 just ahead of the British troops who put the torch to the White House in the War of 1812 .

Madison left Congress in 1797, disgusted by John Jay’s treaty with England, which frustrated his program of commercial retaliation against the wartime oppression of U.S. maritime commerce. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 inspired him to draft the Virginia Resolutions of that year, denouncing those statutes as violations of the First Amendment of the Constitution and affirming the right and duty of the states “to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil.” Carefully worded to mean less legally than they seemed to threaten, they forced him to spend his octogenarian years combating South Carolina ’s interpretation of them as a sanction of state power to nullify federal law .

During eight years as Jefferson ’s secretary of state (1801–09), Madison used the words “The President has decided” so regularly that his own role can be discovered only in foreign archives. British diplomats dealing with Madison encountered “asperity of temper and fluency of expression.” Senators John Adair and Nicholas Gilman agreed in 1806 that he “governed the President,” an opinion held also by French minister Louis-Marie Turreau.

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James Madison: Life in Brief

Like his close friend Thomas Jefferson, James Madison came from a prosperous family of Virginia planters, received an excellent education, and quickly found himself drawn into the debates over independence. In 1776, he became a delegate to the revolutionary Virginia Convention, where he worked closely with Thomas Jefferson to push through religious freedom statutes, among other liberal measures. The youngest member of the Continental Congress, Madison was small in stature. His soft spoken, shy demeanor was a foil for his brilliant persistence in advocating his political agenda. Madison emerged as a respected leader of the congress, known for his hard work and careful preparation.

Leader of Political Battles

Believing that the Articles of Confederation rendered the new republic subject to foreign attack and domestic turmoil, James Madison helped set the wheels in motion for a national convention to draft the young nation's Constitution. Madison led the Virginia delegation to the Philadelphia meeting, which began on May 14, 1787, and supported the cry for General Washington to chair the meeting. Madison's "Virginia Plan" became the blueprint for the constitution that finally emerged, eventually earning him the revered title, "Father of the Constitution." Having fathered the document, Madison worked hard to ensure its ratification. Along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, he published the Federalist Papers, a series of articles arguing for a strong central government subject to an extensive system of checks and balances.

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1789, Madison served as Washington's chief supporter. In this capacity, he fulfilled a promise to Thomas Jefferson, introducing the Bill of Rights, a constitutional guarantee of civil liberties. As Washington continued to move closer to Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton's Federalist vision of a strong central government that promoted commercial and financial interests over agrarian interests, Madison broke with Washington, joining Jefferson to form the opposition party of Democratic-Republicans. During John Adams's presidency, Madison led the Republican fight against the Alien and Sedition Acts, which attempted to quell Republican opposition to Federalist foreign policy toward France. Madison authored the Virginia Resolutions, which declared the laws unconstitutional. Under Thomas Jefferson, Madison served as secretary of state, supporting the Louisiana Purchase and the embargo against Britain and France. Indeed, Madison shaped foreign policy during Jefferson's administration, emerging from behind the scenes in 1808 to succeed him as the fourth President of the United States.

It was not at all clear that Madison would carry the day. Jefferson's embargo of all trade with Britain and France had devastated the nation. New England states spoke of open secession from the Union. The Federalists, convinced they would ride national outrage to victory, re-nominated their 1804 contender, Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina. Meanwhile, George Clinton, who had agreed to run as Madison's vice president, also consented to run for President! Madison swamped the opposition, winning 122 votes to Pinckney's 44. His reelection was also dramatic. Madison's nomination for a second term came just fifteen days prior to his war message to Congress, listing American grievances against Britain. Congress voted the United States into the War of 1812, largely guaranteeing Madison's reelection.

Second War of Independence

The War of 1812 amounted to a second war of independence for the new republic, and quickly helped Madison's popularity. Much of the War of 1812 centered on bloody battles against the Native American tribes that were aided by the British, such as the Creek tribe led by the notorious Tecumseh, who was finally defeated by General William Henry Harrison. In 1814 the British took the nation's new capital, torching the White House and other federal buildings. They were finally defeated at the epic battle of New Orleans by General Andrew Jackson's ragtag army, many of whom were volunteers, including free blacks and slaves, and nearly 1,000 French pirates! The victories against Tecumseh and at New Orleans revitalized the nation and earned him the esteem of his constituents. Madison's critics, who organized the Hartford Convention to protest his policies, looked like traitors to the victorious nation; their anti-war criticism further weakened the Federalist Party.

Life of Surprises

Everyone was shocked when the shy and reticent James Madison announced his marriage to the vivacious Dolley Payne Todd, who became one of the most popular and vibrant First Ladies to ever grace the White House. Dolley Madison was already familiar with her role in Washington, since she had occassionally served as Jefferson's hostess during his administration. A beautiful woman who enjoyed a party, Dolley Madison quickly earned a reputation among conservatives and political enemies, who criticized her for gambling, wearing make-up, and using tobacco. Dolley was hurt by her critics, but was gratified to keep her popularity and public acclaim long after her husband had left office.

Despite Madison's popularity and his outstanding achievements, he has traditionally been misjudged in the past as a less-than-spectacular President. Recently, however, historians have begun to pay more attention to Madison, seeing his handling of the war as similar to Lincoln's war-time management. Madison's government marshaled resources, faced down secessionist threats from New England and proved to the British the folly of fighting wars with the Americans. He established respect for American rights on the high seas, and emerged from the war with more popular support than when he was first inaugurated in 1808. Additionally, when considering the fact that he ended up on the winning side of every important issue that faced the young nation from 1776 to 1816, Madison was the most successful—and possibly the most influential—of all the founding fathers.

J.C.A. Stagg

Professor of History University of Virginia

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The Federalist , commonly referred to as the Federalist Papers, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. The essays were published anonymously, under the pen name "Publius," in various New York state newspapers of the time.

The Federalist Papers were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution, which was drafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. In lobbying for adoption of the Constitution over the existing Articles of Confederation, the essays explain particular provisions of the Constitution in detail. For this reason, and because Hamilton and Madison were each members of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers are often used today to help interpret the intentions of those drafting the Constitution.

The Federalist Papers were published primarily in two New York state newspapers: The New York Packet and The Independent Journal . They were reprinted in other newspapers in New York state and in several cities in other states. A bound edition, with revisions and corrections by Hamilton, was published in 1788 by printers J. and A. McLean. An edition published by printer Jacob Gideon in 1818, with revisions and corrections by Madison, was the first to identify each essay by its author's name. Because of its publishing history, the assignment of authorship, numbering, and exact wording may vary with different editions of The Federalist .

The electronic text of The Federalist used here was compiled for Project Gutenberg by scholars who drew on many available versions of the papers.

One printed edition of the text is The Federalist , edited by Jacob E. Cooke (Middletown, Conn., Wesleyan University Press, 1961). Cooke's introduction provides background information on the printing history of The Federalist; the information provided above comes in part from his work.

This web-friendly presentation of the original text of the Federalist Papers (also known as The Federalist) was obtained from the e-text archives of Project Gutenberg. Any irregularities with regard to grammar, syntax, spelling, or punctuation are as they exist in the original e-text archives.

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James Madison and the Bill of Rights

Written by: bill of rights institute, by the end of this section, you will:.

• Explain the differing ideological positions on the structure and function of the federal government

Suggested Sequencing

This Narrative should be assigned to students at the beginning of their study of Chapter 4. This reading can be used in conjunction with the Actions of the First Congress Lesson or following the Lesson to reinforce main ideas.

In early 1787, when Virginia Congressman James Madison was preparing for the Constitutional Convention, he wrote an essay entitled “Vices of the Political System,” detailing the flaws of the Articles of Confederation. One of the main problems with the Articles, in Madison’s view, was that tyrannical majorities in the states passed unjust laws violating the rights of numerical minorities. He had seen the oppression of religious dissenters in Virginia and became the leading advocate for the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. But injustice was occurring in all the states. As a result, Madison drafted the Virginia Plan, which greatly strengthened the power of the central government and laid the groundwork for the debates at the Constitutional Convention.

James Madison as portrayed by Gilbert Stuart in about 1805-1807. Madison was a dominant force at the Constitutional Convention and took notes that have served as an indispensable source for historians, who call him the “Father of the Constitution.”

At the Constitutional Convention, Madison advocated for constitutional principles of separation of powers, checks and balances, bicameralism , and federalism, which would limit government and protect individual liberties. However, he lost one central feature of his plan of government – a national veto over state laws, meant to prevent majority tyranny in the states.

On September 12, 1787, during the last days of the Constitutional Convention, fellow Virginia delegate George Mason rose and proposed a bill of rights, a list of rights belonging to the people that government could not violate. The delegates were wrapping up their business and worried that a prolonged debate on a bill of rights could endanger the success of their project. Roger Sherman of Connecticut also reassured the convention that the states had their own bills of rights and so had no need for a national bill of rights. The convention unanimously rejected Mason’s idea.

When the Constitution was sent to the state conventions for ratification, the Anti-Federalists who were opposed to it agreed on the need for a bill of rights to protect the liberties of the people. Several Federalists, or those who supported the new Constitution, disagreed. On October 6, Pennsylvanian James Wilson delivered a speech at the state house in which he argued that a bill of rights was unnecessary because the new national government had limited, enumerated (i.e., specified) powers and had no power to violate liberties in the first place. In Federalist Paper No. 84, Alexander Hamilton warned that a bill of rights could even be dangerous, because defining certain rights vaguely would leave them subject to misinterpretation or violation, where previously no such power had existed. Moreover, some important rights would be left out and therefore endangered. Most importantly, Hamilton argued that “the constitution is itself, in every rational sense, and to every useful purpose, A BILL OF RIGHTS” because of the principle of limited government.

During the ratification debate, Federalists in many states had to make compromises. Although they were able to prevent the addition of “conditional amendments” prior to ratification, they had to promise to pass a bill of rights after the Constitution had been ratified. Madison opposed even this and thought “the amendments are a blemish.”

Madison conducted an extensive correspondence over several months with his friend Thomas Jefferson, who was in Paris at the time. Jefferson lamented the absence of a bill of rights in the Constitution and asserted, “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.” Madison waffled on the issue. He did not believe the “omission a material defect.” In a republican form of government rooted upon popular sovereignty, the majority could act tyrannically by violating the rights of the minority. Among his several reasons for opposing a bill of rights was that such documents were often just “parchment barriers” that overbearing majorities violated in the states regardless of whether the written protections for minority rights existed. As he wrote in Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison also believed that a large republic would have many contending factions that would prevent a majority from violating the rights of minorities. Nevertheless, he began to change his mind.

Madison was deeply concerned about the continuing strength of the Anti-Federalists after ratification. Anti-Federalists were still calling for structural changes and a second constitutional convention to limit the powers of the national government and deny it power over taxation and the regulation of commerce. Madison feared this would lead to chaos and fought against it. He also sought greater consensus and harmony around constitutional principles by reaching out to the opponents of the new government. He ran in a hard-fought campaign against James Monroe for a seat in the House of Representatives and made a campaign promise to support a bill of rights, particularly an amendment protecting the liberty of conscience. Finally, Madison wrote President George Washington’s Inaugural Address, which indicated support for a bill of rights to be acted upon in the First Congress.

Representative Madison became the champion for a bill of rights in the First Congress, but the idea met a hostile reception. Most representatives and senators thought Congress had more important work to do setting up the new government or passing tax bills for revenue. Many thought the bill of rights was a “tub to the whale” or a distraction, like the empty tub sailors would use to draw away a whale’s attention. Madison was undeterred and dedicated himself to the cause of protecting the people’s liberties.

On June 8, 1789, dressed in black as always, Madison rose on the floor of the House to deliver a speech in favor of a bill of rights. His arguments were founded on the goal of a harmonious political order and the ideals of justice. A bill of rights would extinguish the apprehensions of Anti-Federalists and convince them of the “principles of amity and moderation” held by the other side, now prepared to fulfill a sacred promise made during the ratification debate. Rhode Island and North Carolina, which had withheld their ratification of the Constitution until a bill of rights was added, would also be welcomed into the union. Most importantly, the Bill of Rights would “expressly declare the great rights of mankind secured under this constitution.”

The first U.S. Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City for one year before moving to Philadelphia in 1790.

Madison then skillfully guided the amendments through the Congress. He and his committee reconciled all the amendments proposed by the state ratifying conventions and discarded any that would alter the structure of the Constitution or the new government. Limiting himself to those protecting essential liberties, Madison developed a list of nineteen amendments and a preamble. He wanted them to be woven into the text of the Constitution, not simply affixed to the end of the document as amendments, and he sought a key amendment to protect from violation by state governments religious freedom, a free press, and trial by jury. He lost both these provisions but prudentially and moderately continued to support the Bill of Rights he had proposed.

On August 24, the House sent seventeen amendments to the Senate after approving them by more than the required two-thirds margin. By September 14, two-thirds of the Senate had approved twelve amendments, removing the limitations on state governments. President Washington sent the amendments to the states, endorsing them even though the president did not have a formal role in their adoption.

Over the next two years, eleven states ratified the Bill of Rights to meet the three-fourths constitutional threshold, including North Carolina and Rhode Island. Virginia became the last state to ratify on December 15, 1791. The Bill of Rights fulfilled Madison’s goals of reconciling its opponents to the Constitution and protecting individual liberties. However, in Barron v. Baltimore (1833), Chief Justice John Marshall affirmed that the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states. The Fourteenth Amendment and later Supreme Court cases in the twentieth century reversed this decision and applied the Bill of Rights to the states through the principle known as “incorporation.”

Review Questions

1. Which delegate to the Constitutional Convention first proposed a bill of rights?

• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• George Mason
• James Monroe

2. One of James Madison’s constitutional principles was rejected. This principle would have given

• the Federal government a veto over state legislation
• the Executive Branch more authority than the other two branches of government
• more authority to the governor of each state
• explicit rights to the people

3. After the submission of the Constitution to the states for ratification, James Madison’s greatest concern grew from

• his fear of the growing divide between the North and South
• the endless debate over the need for a bill of rights
• the strength of resistance to the Constitution expressed by the Anti-Federalists
• the passage of tax bills that would disproportionately harm the small states

4. Which individual helped changed James Madison’s opposition to a bill of rights?

• George Washington

5. Alexander Hamilton’s major argument against a bill of rights was that

• a specific list of rights could be misinterpreted and violated
• it was too burdensome for the federal government to enforce
• it would be abused and interpreted differently by the different states
• the rights would be redundant because states already had their own bills of rights

6. One major reason James Madison initially believed a bill of rights was unnecessary was that

• the United States would be broken into many factions and the majority could not violate the rights of the minority
• individual rights were implied in the body of the Constitution
• a bill of rights would give the people too much authority

7. Which of the following was not a reason that the delegates at the Constitutional Convention omitted adding a bill of rights to the original document?

• Many delegates believed a bill of rights would be unnecessary because all the states had their own.
• There was a strong belief that individual rights were implied in the document they had already created.
• A debate over adding a bill of rights would have prolonged the Convention and could have endangered the work they were about to complete.
• A bill of rights would have been next to impossible to enforce in a nation as large as the United States.

Free Response Questions

• Explain James Madison’s evolving support for the Bill of Rights.
• Describe the debate over the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

AP Practice Questions

“IN THE course of the foregoing review of the Constitution, I have taken notice of, and endeavored to answer most of the objections which have appeared against it. There, however, remain a few which either did not fall naturally under any particular head or were forgotten in their proper places. . . . The most considerable of the remaining objections is that the plan of the convention contains no bill of rights. Among other answers given to this, it has been upon different occasions remarked that the constitutions of several of the States are in a similar predicament. I add that New York is of the number. And yet the opposers of the new system, in this State, who profess an unlimited admiration for its constitution, are among the most intemperate partisans of a bill of rights. To justify their zeal in this matter, they allege two things: one is that, though the constitution of New York has no bill of rights prefixed to it, yet it contains, in the body of it, various provisions in favor of particular privileges and rights, which, in substance amount to the same thing; the other is, that the Constitution adopts, in their full extent, the common and statute law of Great Britain, by which many other rights, not expressed in it, are equally secured. To the first I answer, that the Constitution proposed by the convention contains, as well as the constitution of this State, a number of such provisions.”

Publius (Alexander Hamilton), The Federalist Papers: No. 84 , 1788

1. The argument made by Publius in the excerpt

• explains the need for a strong bill of rights in the Constitution
• argues that a bill of rights would be too restrictive
• argues there is no need for a bill of rights because the different states do not agree on what to include
• argues that a bill of rights is implied in the body of the Constitution and is therefore unnecessary

2. Supporters of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution were most likely influenced by

• the violations of the “Rights of Englishmen” at the hands of the British in the years before the American Revolution
• the failure of the government to come to the aid of Massachusetts during Shays’ Rebellion
• fear of the lack of authority in the central government
• the inherent weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

3. The concepts expressed in the Bill of Rights have most in common with the ideas of

• the Massachusetts Circular Letter of 1768
• the Olive Branch Petition
• the English Bill of Rights
• the Declaration of Rights and Grievances published by the Stamp Act Congress

Primary Sources

Hamilton, Alexander. Federalist #84 . May 28, 1788. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-04-02-0247

Madison, James. Letter to Thomas Jefferson. October 17, 1788. https://founders.archives.gov/?q=bill%20of%20rights%20Recipient%3A%22Jefferson%2C%20Thomas%22%20Author%3A%22Madison%2C%20James%22%20Period%3A%22Confederation%20Period%22&s=1511311111&r=27

Madison, James. “Speech in Congress on the Bill of Rights.” June 8, 1789. https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=001/llac001.db&recNum=221

Suggested Resources

Berkin, Carol. The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties . New York: Simon and Schuster, 2015.

DeRose, Chris. Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe: The Bill of Rights and the Election That Saved a Nation . Washington, DC: Regnery, 2011.

Goldwin, Robert A. From Parchment to Power: How James Madison Used the Bill of Rights to Save the Constitution . Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1997.

Labunski, Richard. James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Levy, Leonard W. Origins of the Bill of Rights . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.

Rutland, Robert Allen. The Birth of the Bill of Rights, 1776-1791 . Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1983.

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The first amendment, historic document, federalist 10 (1787).

James Madison | 1787

After the Constitutional Convention adjourned in September 1787, heated local debate followed on the merits of the Constitution. Each state was required to vote on ratification of the document. A series of articles signed “Publius” soon began in New York newspapers. These Federalist Papers strongly supported the Constitution and continued to appear through the summer of 1788. Hamilton organized them, and he and Madison wrote most of the series of eighty-five articles, with John Jay contributing five. These essays were read carefully and debated in newspapers, primarily in New York. The Federalist Papers have since taken on immense significance, as they have come to be seen as the definitive early exposition on the Constitution’s meaning and giving us the main arguments for our form of government. In Federalist 10, Madison fulfills the promise made in Federalist No. 9 to demonstrate the utility of the proposed union in overcoming the problem of faction. Madison’s argument is the most systematic argument presented in the Federalist Papers , with syllogistically developed reasoning sustained virtually throughout.

Selected by

William B. Allen

Emeritus Dean of James Madison College and Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University

Jonathan Gienapp

Associate Professor of History at Stanford University

Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction. The friend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to this dangerous vice. …

The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, cannot certainly be too much admired; but it would be an unwarranted partiality, to contend that they have as effectually obviated the danger on this side, as was wished and expected. Complaints are everywhere heard from our most considerate and virtuous citizens, equally the friends of public and private faith, and of public and personal liberty, that our governments are too unstable; that the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties; and that measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice, and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority. These must be chiefly, if not wholly, effects of the unsteadiness and injustice, with which a factious spirit has tainted our public administrations.

By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.

There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction. The one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects. There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction. The one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.

It could never be more truly said, than of the first remedy, that it is worse than the disease. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it would not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.

The second expedient is as impracticable, as the first would be unwise. As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self­love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves. The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to an uniformity of interests. The protection of those faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties.

The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; … and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other, than to co-operate for their common good. So strong is this propensity of mankind, to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts. But the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those, who hold, and those who are without property, have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors, and those who are debtors, fall into a like discrimination. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views. The regulation of these various and interfering interests forms the principal task of modern legislation and involves the spirit of the party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of government. …

It is vain to say, that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clashing interests and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. …

The inference to which we are brought is, that the causes of faction cannot be removed; and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects.

If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views, by regular vote. It may clog the administration; it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest, both the public good and the rights of other citizens. To secure the public good, and private rights, against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is the greatest object to which our inquiries are directed. ...

By what means is the object attainable? Evidently by one of two only. Either the existence of the same passion or interest in a majority, at the same time must be prevented; or the majority, having such coexistent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression. …

From this view of the subject, it may be concluded, that a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure from the mischiefs of faction. …

A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking. Let us examine the points in which it varies from pure democracy, and we shall comprehend both the nature of the cure and the efficacy which it must derive from the union. The two great points of difference, between a democracy and a republic, are, first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens, and the greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended.

The effect of the first difference is, on the one hand, to refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice, will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations. Under such a regulation, it may well happen, that the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good, than if pronounced by the people themselves, convened for the purpose.... The question resulting is, whether small or extensive republics are most favorable to the election of proper guardians of the public weal; and it is clearly decided in favor of the latter by two obvious considerations.

In the first place, it is to be remarked, that however small the republic may be, the representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cabals of a few; and that however large it may be, they must be limited to a certain number, in order to guard against the confusion of a multitude. Hence, the number of representatives in the two cases not being in proportion to that of the constituents, and being proportionately greatest in the small republic, it follows that if the proportion of fit characters be not less in the large than in the small republic, the former will present a greater probability of a fit choice.

In the next place, as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts, by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to center in men who possess the most attractive merit, and the most diffusive and established characters. …

The other point of difference is, the greater number of citizens, and extent of territory, which may be brought within the compass of republican, than of democratic government; and it is this circumstance principally which renders factious combinations less to be dreaded in the former, than in the latter. .. Extend the sphere, and you will take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other. …

Hence, it clearly appears, that the same advantage, which a republic has over a democracy, in controlling the effects of faction, is enjoyed by a large over a small republic - enjoyed by the union over the states composing it. …

In the extent and proper structure of the union, therefore, we behold a republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government.

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Federalist no. 43 by james madison (1788).

• Terms and definitions
• Court cases
• Major arguments
• State responses to federal mandates
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• Overview of federal spending during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
• Index of articles

• 1 Background of the author
• 2 Full text of The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered
• 3 Background of the Federalist Papers
• 4 Full list of Federalist Papers
• 6 External links
• 7 Footnotes

Federalist Number (No.) 43 (1788) is an essay by British-American politician James Madison arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution . The full title of the essay is "The Same Subject Continued: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered." It was written as part of a series of essays collected and published in 1788 as The Federalist and later known as The Federalist Papers . These essays were written by Alexander Hamilton , James Madison , and John Jay . They argued for ratification of the United States Constitution as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation . [1]

• Author: James Madison
• Source: Originally published in the Independent Journal on January 23, 1788. Republished in 1788 as part of the collection The Federalist , now referred to as The Federalist Papers .
• Abstract: Madison discusses miscellaneous powers and authorities given to the central government.

Background of the author

James Madison (1751-1836) was an American politician who served as the fourth president of the United States . He is considered a Founding Father of the United States and is also known as the Father of the Constitution due to his contributions to the development of the United States Constitution . Below is a summary of Madison's career: [2]

• 1775 : Joined the Virginia militia as a colonel
• 1777-1779 : Member of the Virginia Governor's Council
• 1780-1783 : Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress
• 1784-1786 : Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• 1787 : Virginia representative to the Constitutional Convention
• 1789-1797 : Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia
• 1801-1809 : Fifth U.S. secretary of state
• 1809-1817 : Fourth president of the United States

Full text of The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered

The full text of Federalist No. 43 reads as follows: [1]

“ To the People of the State of New York: THE FOURTH class comprises the following miscellaneous powers: 1. A power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for a limited time, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. 2. "To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States; and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislatures of the States in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings. 3. "To declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attained. 4. "To admit new States into the Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress. 5. "To dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States, with a proviso, that nothing in the Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 6. "To guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of government; to protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. says Montesquieu, "consists of free cities and petty states, subject to different princes, experience shows us that it is more imperfect than that of Holland and Switzerland. he adds, "as soon as the king of Macedon obtained a seat among the Amphictyons. These questions admit of ready answers. If the interposition of the general government should not be needed, the provision for such an event will be a harmless superfluity only in the Constitution. But who can say what experiments may be produced by the caprice of particular States, by the ambition of enterprising leaders, or by the intrigues and influence of foreign powers? To the second question it may be answered, that if the general government should interpose by virtue of this constitutional authority, it will be, of course, bound to pursue the authority. But the authority extends no further than to a GUARANTY of a republican form of government, which supposes a pre-existing government of the form which is to be guaranteed. As long, therefore, as the existing republican forms are continued by the States, they are guaranteed by the federal Constitution. Whenever the States may choose to substitute other republican forms, they have a right to do so, and to claim the federal guaranty for the latter. The only restriction imposed on them is, that they shall not exchange republican for antirepublican Constitutions; a restriction which, it is presumed, will hardly be considered as a grievance. A protection against invasion is due from every society to the parts composing it. The latitude of the expression here used seems to secure each State, not only against foreign hostility, but against ambitious or vindictive enterprises of its more powerful neighbors. The history, both of ancient and modern confederacies, proves that the weaker members of the union ought not to be insensible to the policy of this article. Protection against domestic violence is added with equal propriety. It has been remarked, that even among the Swiss cantons, which, properly speaking, are not under one government, provision is made for this object; and the history of that league informs us that mutual aid is frequently claimed and afforded; and as well by the most democratic, as the other cantons. A recent and well-known event among ourselves has warned us to be prepared for emergencies of a like nature. At first view, it might seem not to square with the republican theory, to suppose, either that a majority have not the right, or that a minority will have the force, to subvert a government; and consequently, that the federal interposition can never be required, but when it would be improper. But theoretic reasoning, in this as in most other cases, must be qualified by the lessons of practice. Why may not illicit combinations, for purposes of violence, be formed as well by a majority of a State, especially a small State as by a majority of a county, or a district of the same State; and if the authority of the State ought, in the latter case, to protect the local magistracy, ought not the federal authority, in the former, to support the State authority? Besides, there are certain parts of the State constitutions which are so interwoven with the federal Constitution, that a violent blow cannot be given to the one without communicating the wound to the other. Insurrections in a State will rarely induce a federal interposition, unless the number concerned in them bear some proportion to the friends of government. It will be much better that the violence in such cases should be repressed by the superintending power, than that the majority should be left to maintain their cause by a bloody and obstinate contest. The existence of a right to interpose, will generally prevent the necessity of exerting it. Is it true that force and right are necessarily on the same side in republican governments? May not the minor party possess such a superiority of pecuniary resources, of military talents and experience, or of secret succors from foreign powers, as will render it superior also in an appeal to the sword? May not a more compact and advantageous position turn the scale on the same side, against a superior number so situated as to be less capable of a prompt and collected exertion of its strength? Nothing can be more chimerical than to imagine that in a trial of actual force, victory may be calculated by the rules which prevail in a census of the inhabitants, or which determine the event of an election! May it not happen, in fine, that the minority of CITIZENS may become a majority of PERSONS, by the accession of alien residents, of a casual concourse of adventurers, or of those whom the constitution of the State has not admitted to the rights of suffrage? I take no notice of an unhappy species of population abounding in some of the States, who, during the calm of regular government, are sunk below the level of men; but who, in the tempestuous scenes of civil violence, may emerge into the human character, and give a superiority of strength to any party with which they may associate themselves. In cases where it may be doubtful on which side justice lies, what better umpires could be desired by two violent factions, flying to arms, and tearing a State to pieces, than the representatives of confederate States, not heated by the local flame? To the impartiality of judges, they would unite the affection of friends. Happy would it be if such a remedy for its infirmities could be enjoyed by all free governments; if a project equally effectual could be established for the universal peace of mankind! Should it be asked, what is to be the redress for an insurrection pervading all the States, and comprising a superiority of the entire force, though not a constitutional right? the answer must be, that such a case, as it would be without the compass of human remedies, so it is fortunately not within the compass of human probability; and that it is a sufficient recommendation of the federal Constitution, that it diminishes the risk of a calamity for which no possible constitution can provide a cure. Among the advantages of a confederate republic enumerated by Montesquieu, an important one is, "that should a popular insurrection happen in one of the States, the others are able to quell it. Should abuses creep into one part, they are reformed by those that remain sound. 7. "To consider all debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, as being no less valid against the United States, under this Constitution, than under the Confederation. 8. "To provide for amendments to be ratified by three fourths of the States under two exceptions only. 9. "The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States, ratifying the same. 1) On what principle the Confederation, which stands in the solemn form of a compact among the States, can be superseded without the unanimous consent of the parties to it? 2) What relation is to subsist between the nine or more States ratifying the Constitution, and the remaining few who do not become parties to it? The first question is answered at once by recurring to the absolute necessity of the case; to the great principle of self-preservation; to the transcendent law of nature and of nature's God, which declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all such institutions must be sacrificed. PERHAPS, also, an answer may be found without searching beyond the principles of the compact itself. It has been heretofore noted among the defects of the Confederation, that in many of the States it had received no higher sanction than a mere legislative ratification. The principle of reciprocality seems to require that its obligation on the other States should be reduced to the same standard. A compact between independent sovereigns, founded on ordinary acts of legislative authority, can pretend to no higher validity than a league or treaty between the parties. It is an established doctrine on the subject of treaties, that all the articles are mutually conditions of each other; that a breach of any one article is a breach of the whole treaty; and that a breach, committed by either of the parties, absolves the others, and authorizes them, if they please, to pronounce the compact violated and void. Should it unhappily be necessary to appeal to these delicate truths for a justification for dispensing with the consent of particular States to a dissolution of the federal pact, will not the complaining parties find it a difficult task to answer the MULTIPLIED and IMPORTANT infractions with which they may be confronted? The time has been when it was incumbent on us all to veil the ideas which this paragraph exhibits. The scene is now changed, and with it the part which the same motives dictate. The second question is not less delicate; and the flattering prospect of its being merely hypothetical forbids an overcurious discussion of it. It is one of those cases which must be left to provide for itself. In general, it may be observed, that although no political relation can subsist between the assenting and dissenting States, yet the moral relations will remain uncancelled. The claims of justice, both on one side and on the other, will be in force, and must be fulfilled; the rights of humanity must in all cases be duly and mutually respected; whilst considerations of a common interest, and, above all, the remembrance of the endearing scenes which are past, and the anticipation of a speedy triumph over the obstacles to reunion, will, it is hoped, not urge in vain MODERATION on one side, and PRUDENCE on the other. PUBLIUS. ” Background of the Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers are the 85 articles and essays James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay published arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the full replacement of the Aritcles of Confederation. All three writers published their papers under the collective pseudonym Publius between 1787-1788. [4] The Articles of Confederation were an agreement among the original thirteen states in the United States to unite under a central government consisting of the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress proposed the Articles in 1777, and they became effective in March 1781. The Articles primarily authorized the national government to govern diplomatic foreign relations and regulate and fund the Continental Army. Under the Articles, the Continental Congress lacked the power to levy taxes and could only request funds from the states. The inability of the national government to raise money caused the government to default on pension payments to former Revolutionary War soldiers and other financial obligations, resulting in unrest. Shay's Rebellion was a prominent example of unrest related to the weakness of the central government and the Continental Congress' inability to fulfill its obligations. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was convened to solve the problems related to the weak national government. Federalists, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, advocated for a completely new government under the United States Constitution . They rejected the Articles of Confederation as a weak governing document that needed fully replaced. The federalists thought the strengthened national government could help protect individual rights from factional conflicts at the state and local levels. They argued the Constitution would strengthen the federal government enough to allow for effective governance but not enough to infringe on the rights of individuals. [5] [6] [4] Anti-federalists like Patrick Henry, Melancton Smith, and George Clinton argued that the national government proposed under the Constitution would be too powerful and would infringe on individual liberties. They thought the Articles of Confederation needed amended, not replaced. [5] [6] [4] Full list of Federalist Papers The following is a list of individual essays that were collected and published in 1788 as The Federalist and later known as The Federalist Papers . These essays were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. They argued for ratification of the United States Constitution as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation . The Federalist Papers Number Subject Author No 1 Hamilton No 2 Jay No 3 Jay No 4 Jay No 5 Jay No 6 Hamilton No 7 Hamilton No 8 Hamilton No 9 Hamilton No 10 Madison No 11 Hamilton No 12 Hamilton No 13 Hamilton No 14 Madison No 15 Hamilton No 16 Hamilton No 17 Hamilton No 18 Hamilton and Madison No 19 Hamilton and Madison No 20 Hamilton and Madison No 21 Hamilton No 22 Hamilton No 23 Hamilton No 24 Hamilton No 25 Hamilton No 26 Hamilton No 27 Hamilton No 28 Hamilton No 29 Hamilton No 30 Hamilton No 31 Hamilton No 32 Hamilton No 33 Hamilton No 34 Hamilton No 35 Hamilton No 36 Hamilton No 37 Madison No 38 Madison No 39 Madison No 40 Madison No 41 Madison No 42 Madison No 43 Madison No 44 Madison No 45 Madison No 46 Madison No 47 Madison No 48 Madison No 49 Hamilton and Madison No 50 Hamilton and Madison No 51 Hamilton and Madison No 52 Hamilton and Madison No 53 Hamilton and Madison No 54 Hamilton and Madison No 55 Hamilton and Madison No 56 Hamilton and Madison No 57 Hamilton and Madison No 58 Madison No 59 Hamilton No 60 Hamilton No 61 Hamilton No 62 Hamilton and Madison No 63 Hamilton and Madison No 64 Jay No 65 Hamilton No 66 Hamilton No 67 Hamilton No 68 Hamilton No 69 Hamilton No 70 Hamilton No 71 Hamilton No 72 Hamilton No 73 Hamilton No 74 Hamilton No 75 Hamilton No 76 Hamilton No 77 Hamilton No 78 Hamilton No 79 Hamilton No 80 Hamilton No 81 Hamilton No 82 Hamilton No 83 Hamilton No 84 Hamilton No 85 Hamilton Federalist Papers Anti-Federalist papers External links Search Google News for this topic ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yale Law School , "The Federalist Papers: No. 43," accessed June 14, 2022 ↑ Biography.com , "James Madison," accessed June 16, 2018 ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Federalist Papers , "THE ANTIFEDERALIST PAPERS," accesses May 27, 2022 ↑ 5.0 5.1 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archive , "Federalism," accessed July 27, 2021 ↑ 6.0 6.1 Middle Tennessee State University , "Anti-Federalists," accessed July 27, 2021  •   •  Ballotpedia • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Pages using DynamicPageList3 dplreplace parser function Federalism tracking The Federalist Papers Ballotpedia features 493,601 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff or report an error . For media inquiries, contact us here . Please donate here to support our continued expansion. Information about voting What's on my ballot? Where do I vote? How do I register to vote? 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Election results Send us candidate contact info Get Engaged Donate to Ballotpedia Report an error Newsletters Ballotpedia podcast Ballotpedia Boutique Media inquiries Premium research services 2024 Elections calendar 2024 Presidential election Biden Administration Recall elections Ballotpedia News SITE NAVIGATION Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot 2024 Congressional elections 2024 State executive elections 2024 State legislative elections 2024 State judge elections 2024 Local elections 2024 Ballot measures Upcoming elections 2025 Statewide primary dates 2025 State executive elections 2025 State legislative elections 2025 Local elections 2025 Ballot measures Cabinet officials Executive orders and actions Key legislation Judicial nominations White House senior staff U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Supreme Court Federal courts State government Municipal government Election policy Running for office Ballotpedia's weekly podcast About Ballotpedia Editorial independence Job opportunities News and events Privacy policy Disclaimers What Made America’s Founders Perpetuate Slavery T his Fourth of July, with the clock ticking down to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, the United States once again confronts an anguished question: Why did the founders of the nation, supposedly enlightened demi-gods, perpetuate the horror and hypocrisy of slavery rather than banish it outright?  Many theories have been put forth. Some historians attribute the founders’ failure to enact some federal plan of emancipation to entrenched white supremacy. Others place the blame on a trans-Atlantic economic system that simultaneously enriched Southern white planters and Northern merchants on the profits of the slave trade and slave labor. No matter how heinous these crimes against humanity, the economic argument emphasizes, the founders simply could not break their addiction to the lucrative status quo.  These social and economic interpretations of the founders’ grotesque inaction on slavery are certainly correct. But they overlook another vital explanatory model: the survivalist interpretation , according to which the founders perpetuated slavery because, had they not, the then young country would have split apart into separate confederacies and killed one another in civil wars. According to this model, it was a matter of white self-preservation versus African-American freedom.  In the 1770s and 1780s, the founders feared a three-step chain reaction that would begin with the secession of one or more states from the Union. When such disunion happened, they were confident that the U.S. would rupture into separate confederacies––either Northern and Southern or New England, Middle, and Southern.  It was this second step––disunion––that constituted an epic nightmare for the founders because, in their view, disbanding into separate confederacies would rapidly precipitate civil wars over commerce, undivided war debt, state-federal financial accounting, disputed state boundaries, and the rich bounty of western territory claimed by Anglo-Americans across the Appalachian Mountains extending to the Mississippi River.  The founders knew, beyond a doubt, they must either “ Unite or Die .” George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the rest felt the guns of disunion and civil war pointing at their backs in every decision they made in the 1770s and 1780s, including those relating to slavery and the slave trade.  Had a coalition of abolitionist-minded Northern leaders demanded an end to the slave trade or even a gradual plan for emancipation, some of the Southern states, if not all, would have seceded from the Union, triggering the deadly three-step chain reaction: disunion, the formation of separate confederations, and, in short order, bloody civil wars.   Statesmen Thomas Lynch of South Carolina laid bare the risk of secession over slavery as early as July of 1776, pledging on the floor of the Assembly Room in Independence Hall that any attempt by Northerners even to politically define enslaved persons as human beings, rather than property, would provoke their withdrawal from the Union.   “If it is debated whether their slaves are their property,” Lynch declared , “there is an end of the confederation.” A year earlier, the delegates deliberated upon the violent dynamic of disunion as they debated how to counter the Coercive Acts adopted by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party.  One delegate in Congress, Pennsylvanian Joseph Galloway, warned his fellow Americans that the 13 colonies would find it nearly impossible to unite if they separated from the British empire, and, as a result, they would soon fall into two subcategories of geographic civil war: land, border, and boundary wars between individual colonies, and finally, at some point, a bloody conflagration between North and South.  Galloway did not say what would spark the North-South civil war, but he predicted that when it came the vulnerable agricultural South would suffer a crushing loss.   “The northern colonies, inured to military discipline and hardships,” Galloway prognosticated in 1775, “will, in all probability, be the first to enter the list of military controversy; and, like the northern Saxons and Danes, carry devastation and havoc over the southern, who, weak for want of discipline, and having a dangerous enemy within their own bowels, must, after suffering all the horrors of a civil war, yield to the superior force, and submit to the will of the conquerors.” That “dangerous enemy within,” of course, was the half-million enslaved persons living in the Southern colonies primed for a revolution of their own against their feudal overlords. Clearly, the Pennsylvanian was indicating, enslaved Black Americans would rise up for their own freedom in such a war, joining the Northerners in the conquest. In debates over the Articles of Confederation, New Jersey delegate John Witherspoon, president of the college later renamed Princeton, made a similar argument in response to proposals by some delegates to forgo a tight-knit, perpetual constitutional union in favor of a loose association of the states that would endure only until the end of the war. Witherspoon called the idea “ madness .”  They must unite into one indissoluble government, Witherspoon warned in a speech on July 30, because, if not, the War of Independence was going to be “only a prelude to a contest of a more dreadful nature, and indeed much more properly a civil war than that which now often obtains the name.” Why, Witherspoon asked, should the citizens of the American states expend their mutual treasure and blood now seeking to obtain independence from the British “with a certainty, as soon as peace was settled with them of a more lasting war, a more unnatural, more bloody, and much more hopeless war, among the colonies themselves?”  John Dickinson, another Pennsylvania delegate, also spoke about the violent sequela of disunion, predicting that an American civil war would likely commence within two or three decades after independence when New England split off to form its own separate confederation. Soon thereafter, New Englanders would invade New York to secure control of the Hudson River, setting off a civil war with unknowable consequences. Dickinson foresaw this scenario in what he called the “ Doomsday Book of America ,” calling it “dreadful” to contemplate.  Years later James Madison, tacitly acknowledging that the American Union was a shotgun wedding , explained why the framers did not immediately abolish the slave trade in the U.S. Constitution. If they had mandated such a plan, he said, South Carolina and Georgia would have seceded from the Union. Read More: July 1776 Was a Shotgun Wedding “Great as the evil is,” Madison continued , referring to the slave trade, “a dismemberment of the union would be worse.” Thus, if the survivalist interpretation of the founders’ political decision-making is correct, where are we left today in our historical understanding of why they turned a blind eye to one of the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed?  The founders did this, for one thing, because they lived in a culture of pervasive white supremacy and, for another, because they were inextricably bound up in an economic system that exploited slavery and the slave trade for economic gain and profits.  But, as the study of history often reveals, the story is more complex. American political leaders faced a stark choice in the 1770s and 1780s––and thereafter until the outbreak of the Civil War. They could either advance a program for ending slavery, or they could secure freedom from civil wars for themselves.  The founders did virtually nothing at the federal level to rescue African-Americans from the despotism of slavery because, fearing for their lives, they put their own safety, security, and self-preservation first. It was a grievous devil’s bargain with vast and tragic consequences for the Revolutionary era and the future of the nation. More Must-Reads from TIME Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting Politicians Condemn Trump Rally Shooting: ‘No Place for Political Violence in Our Democracy’ From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town Remembering Shannen Doherty , the Quintessential Gen X Girl How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets? Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox Contact us at [email protected] Founders Online --> [ Back to normal view ] For the national gazette , [ca. 19 december] 1791, for the national gazette. [ca. 19 December 1791] Public Opinion. Public opinion sets bounds to every government, and is the real sovereign in every free one. As there are cases where the public opinion must be obeyed by the government; so there are cases, where not being fixed, it may be influenced by the government. This distinction, if kept in view, would prevent or decide many debates on the respect due from the government to the sentiments of the people. In proportion as government is influenced by opinion, it must be so, by whatever influences opinion. This decides the question concerning a Constitutional Declaration of Rights , which requires an influence on government, by becoming a part of the public opinion. The larger a country, the less easy for its real opinion to be ascertained, and the less difficult to be counterfeited; when ascertained or presumed, the more respectable it is in the eyes of individuals. This is favorable to the authority of government. For the same reason, the more extensive a country, the more insignificant is each individual in his own eyes. This may be unfavorable to liberty. Whatever facilitates a general intercourse of sentiments, as good roads, domestic commerce, a free press, and particularly a circulation of newspapers through the entire body of the people , and Representatives going from, and returning among every part of them , is equivalent to a contraction of territorial limits, and is favorable to liberty, where these may be too extensive. Printed copy ( National Gazette , 19 Dec. 1791). While no Ms in his hand has been found, JM initialed his essays, including this one, in a bound volume of the National Gazette which is now in the Library of Congress. See JM’s Notes for the National Gazette Essays, ca. 19 Dec. 1791–3 Mar. 1792 , where similarities of style and thought are obvious, particularly in the segments labeled “Influence of public opinion on Government” and “Influence of the size of a nation on Government.” Index Entries You are looking at. The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic This essay about James Madison highlights his pivotal role in the formation of the United States. Known as the “Father of the Constitution” Madison’s contributions to the drafting of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were instrumental in shaping American democracy. His work on the Federalist Papers provided critical arguments for the ratification of the Constitution emphasizing the need for a strong central government balanced by checks and balances. Madison’s political career including his presidency during the War of 1812 showcased his leadership and dedication to republican principles. His legacy endures through his extensive writings and the enduring influence of his ideas on American political thought and governance. How it works James Madison who is frequently described regarded as the “Constitutional Father” was instrumental in founding the country that exists today. His position as one of the main architects of American democracy is cemented by his leadership throughout the republic’s formative years his term as the country’s fourth president and his contributions to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Madison’s ascent to prominence began with his active participation in the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Despite his diminutive stature Madison made a substantial contribution to the proceedings with his insightful and persuasive words. He gave the group a presentation on the Virginia Plan a federal policy idea that would later influence the Constitution’s writing. His conception of an all-encompassing federal government subdued by a system of checks and balances was a driving force behind the creation of the legal structure that still guides American policy today. The most well-known historical contribution of James Madison is found in The Federalist Papers an anthology of eighty-five essays written in collaboration with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. These articles had a major role in the states’ approval of the Constitution. Because Madison understood the need of the separation of powers and the dangers of factionalism particularly in Federalist Nos. 10 and 51 his contributions are still studied today. In Federalist No. 51 Madison highlights the necessity of checks and balances to prevent any one branch of government from becoming overly powerful. In No. 10 Madison argues against factionalism and in support of a broad republic. Madison’s support for the Constitution did not end there. Understanding that individual rights ought to be explicitly protected he played a significant role in the formulation of the first 10 amendments which are together referred to as the Bill of Rights. His insistence on these changes contributed to the states’ adoption of the Constitution and the provision of essential liberties such the freedom of the press of speech and of religion. Madison’s political career demonstrated his commitment to republican values in addition to his contributions to the United States’ foundational texts. In addition to co-founding the Democratic-Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson he was a close counselor to President George Washington while serving as a leader in the House of Representatives. In stark contrast to the Federalist Party which favored a more centralized government this party supported states’ rights and a small federal government. Between 1809 until 1817 Madison served as president and during that time he faced many difficulties and accomplished a great deal. The War of 1812 sometimes known as the “Second War of Independence” was one of the pivotal moments of his presidency. Madison’s leadership enabled the country to emerge from the war with a revitalized sense of national identity and sovereignty despite facing strong opposition and the destruction of the White House by British forces. The Treaty of Ghent which ended the war in 1814 and the “Era of Good Feelings” that followed highlighted Madison’s contribution to building a strong and cohesive nation. Madison left behind a rich literary and communication legacy that extends beyond his political accomplishments. His painstaking notes from the Constitutional Convention offer priceless insights into the goals of the framers and the discussions that molded the foundational text. Madison was able to create solutions that not only met the immediate requirements of the fledgling country but also laid the foundation for its future stability and expansion. This was made possible by his ability to combine philosophical rigor with pragmatic political considerations. Madison’s writings and ideas continued to impact American political philosophy long after he had away. His “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments” which outlined his devotion to religious freedom laid the groundwork for the separation of religion and state which is now a tenet of American democracy. Madison’s political leadership and scholarship have been influenced by his belief in a government that is both empowered and constrained by its people. In conclusion James Madison’s achievements as a founder statesman and intellectual have had a significant influence on American history. His significant impact on the American republic may be seen in his leadership throughout the nation’s formative years his constitutional and Bill of Rights contributions and his perceptive ideas about liberty and governance. Madison’s ideal of a balanced government that protects individual liberties while ensuring collective security continues to serve as a guiding concept demonstrating his lasting effect on the identity and objectives of the United States. Cite this page The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic. (2024, Jul 06). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/ "The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic." PapersOwl.com , 6 Jul 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/ PapersOwl.com. (2024). The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/ [Accessed: 14 Jul. 2024] "The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic." PapersOwl.com, Jul 06, 2024. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/ "The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic," PapersOwl.com , 06-Jul-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/. [Accessed: 14-Jul-2024] PapersOwl.com. (2024). The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-james-madison-architect-of-the-american-republic/ [Accessed: 14-Jul-2024] Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+! Please check your inbox. You can order an original essay written according to your instructions. Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide 1. Tell Us Your Requirements 2. Pick your perfect writer 3. Get Your Paper and Pay Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant! Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. short deadlines 100% Plagiarism-Free Certified writers Kindle Store Kindle eBooks Kindle Price: $0.00 De Marque Price set by seller. Promotions apply when you purchase These promotions will be applied to this item: Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions. Sorry, there was a problem. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required . Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Image Unavailable To view this video download Flash Player Follow the author The Federalist Papers Kindle Edition Print length 449 pages Language English Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe Publisher USA Classics Publication date July 9, 2024 File size 824 KB Page Flip Enabled Word Wise Enabled Enhanced typesetting Enabled See all details Products related to this item .sp_detail_sponsored_label { color: #555555; font-size: 11px; } .sp_detail_info_icon { width: 11px; vertical-align: text-bottom; fill: #969696; } .sp_info_link { text-decoration:none !important; } #sp_detail_hide_feedback_string { display: none; } .sp_detail_sponsored_label:hover { color: #111111; } .sp_detail_sponsored_label:hover .sp_detail_info_icon { fill: #555555; } Sponsored (function(f) {var _np=(window.P._namespace("FirebirdSpRendering"));if(_np.guardFatal){_np.guardFatal(f)(_np);}else{f(_np);}}(function(P) { P.when("A", "a-carousel-framework", "a-modal").execute(function(A, CF, AM) { var DESKTOP_METRIC_PREFIX = 'adFeedback:desktop:multiAsinAF:sp_detail'; A.declarative('sp_detail_feedback-action', 'click', function(event) { var MODAL_NAME_PREFIX = 'multi_af_modal_'; var MODAL_CLASS_PREFIX = 'multi-af-modal-'; var BASE_16 = 16; var UID_START_INDEX = 2; var uniqueIdentifier = Math.random().toString(BASE_16).substr(UID_START_INDEX); var modalName = MODAL_NAME_PREFIX + "sp_detail" + uniqueIdentifier; var modalClass = MODAL_CLASS_PREFIX + "sp_detail" + uniqueIdentifier; initModal(modalName, modalClass); removeModalOnClose(modalName); }); function initModal (modalName, modalClass) { var trigger = A.$(' '); var initialContent = ' ' + ' ' + ' '; var HEADER_STRING = "Leave feedback"; if (false) { HEADER_STRING = "Ad information and options"; } var modalInstance = AM.create(trigger, { 'content': initialContent, 'header': HEADER_STRING, 'name': modalName }); modalInstance.show(); var serializedPayload = generatePayload(modalName); A.$.ajax({ url: "/af/multi-creative/feedback-form", type: 'POST', data: serializedPayload, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'Accept': 'application/json'}, success: function(response) { if (!response) { return; } modalInstance.update(response); var successMetric = DESKTOP_METRIC_PREFIX + ":formDisplayed"; if (window.ue && window.ue.count) { window.ue.count(successMetric, (window.ue.count(successMetric) || 0) + 1); } }, error: function(err) { var errorText = 'Feedback Form get failed with error: ' + err; var errorMetric = DESKTOP_METRIC_PREFIX + ':error'; P.log(errorText, 'FATAL', DESKTOP_METRIC_PREFIX); if (window.ue && window.ue.count) { window.ue.count(errorMetric, (window.ue.count(errorMetric) || 0) + 1); } modalInstance.update(' ' + "Error loading ad feedback form." + ' '); } }); return modalInstance; } function removeModalOnClose (modalName) { A.on('a:popover:afterHide:' + modalName, function removeModal () { AM.remove(modalName); }); } function generatePayload(modalName) { var carousel = CF.getCarousel(document.getElementById("sp_detail")); var EMPTY_CARD_CLASS = "a-carousel-card-empty"; if (!carousel) { return; } var adPlacementMetaData = carousel.dom.$carousel.context.getAttribute("data-ad-placement-metadata"); var adDetailsList = []; if (adPlacementMetaData == "") { return; } carousel.dom.$carousel.children("li").not("." + EMPTY_CARD_CLASS).each(function (idx, item) { var divs = item.getElementsByTagName("div"); var adFeedbackDetails; for (var i = 0; i Editorial Reviews About the author. Alexander Hamilton  (1757–1804), now immortalized in the eponymous Broadway musical, was an American Founding Father and an influential interpreter and promoter of the US Constitution. As the original US Treasury Secretary, he was the main author of George Washington’s economic policies, founding the nation’s financial system. Mobilizing a nationwide network of friends of the government, especially bankers and businessmen, he went on to establish the Federalist Party, the US Coast Guard, and  The New York Post . Hamilton was active in ending the international slave trade and died after a duel with the US Vice President Aaron Burr. John Jay (1745–1829) was the first Chief Justice of the United States. During and after the American Revolution, he was the US ambassador to Spain, a negotiator of the Treaty of Paris by which Great Britain recognized American independence, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. His major diplomatic achievement was the 1794 Treaty of London, in which favorable trade terms with Great Britain were negotiated. As a leader of the Federalist Party, Jay became governor of New York state, where he was the leading opponent of slavery. By signing the 1799 “Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery” into law, he granted all slaves in New York freedom by the year 1827. James Madison (1751–1836) was the fourth US President and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the supreme law of the United States, including the Bill of Rights. As Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of State, he supervised the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the nation’s size. Madison succeeded Jefferson as President in 1809, was re-elected in 1813, and presided over renewed prosperity for several years. Product details ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D93YN3JF Publisher ‏ : ‎ USA Classics (July 9, 2024) Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 9, 2024 Language ‏ : ‎ English File size ‏ : ‎ 824 KB Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe Print length ‏ : ‎ 449 pages Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0486496368 #1 in Constitutional Law (Kindle Store) #2 in State & Local History of the U.S. About the author James madison. 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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Reviews with images Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews Top reviews from the United States There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later.. Top reviews from other countries Report an issue About Amazon Investor Relations Amazon Devices Amazon Science Sell products on Amazon Sell on Amazon Business Sell apps on Amazon Become an Affiliate Advertise Your Products Self-Publish with Us Host an Amazon Hub › See More Make Money with Us Amazon Business Card Shop with Points Reload Your Balance Amazon Currency Converter Amazon and COVID-19 Your Account Your Orders Shipping Rates & Policies Returns & Replacements Manage Your Content and Devices Conditions of Use Privacy Notice Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure Your Ads Privacy Choices Share full article Advertisement New York Today Bastille day on the upper east side. L’Alliance New York will celebrate the 14th of July with festivities marking the 235th anniversary of the famous storming of a Paris prison. By James Barron Good morning. It’s Friday. Today, and on Fridays through the summer, we’ll focus on things to do in New York over the weekend. You’ll probably hear the phrase “vive le 14 juillet” — French for “long live the 14th of July” — on a four-block stretch of Madison Avenue on Sunday afternoon. On the 14th of July in 1789, a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille, a prison that had come to symbolize everything that was wrong under the Bourbons’ despotic monarchy. That first victory against the “ancien régime” has long been celebrated as Bastille Day. “We always refer to Bastille Day as ‘la prise de la Bastille,” or “the taking of the Bastille,” said Tatyana Franck, the president of L’Alliance New York, which is organizing the Bastille Day street fair on Sunday. “This is ‘la prise de Madison,’ a celebration of the values that France holds dear” — including “liberté, égalité, fraternité.” For Francophiles and Francophones in New York and elsewhere, this Bastille Day is especially meaningful. Not only is 2024 the 235th anniversary of the uprising at the prison; it is the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s return visit to the United States (he arrived in August 1824). Franck, a former Alpine skier and former director of the Picasso archives in Paris and Geneva, mentioned the longstanding friendship between France and the United States that was underscored during the recent D-Day commemoration. And the world will be watching, as the Olympics get underway in Paris in a couple of weeks. Franck said there would be a nod to the Olympics with soccer and games organized by Asphalt Green, a Manhattan nonprofit that provides sports and fitness programs, along with fencing demonstrations. And there will be places to play pétanque, or boules, which Franck acknowledged is not an Olympic sport but is very French. (The game is somewhat similar to bocce.) We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. 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American public has been brainwashed and don't know their rights “Take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.” — James Madison James Madison, often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution,” once predicted that the Bill of Rights would become mere “parchment barrier,” words on paper ignored by successive generations of Americans. Subscribe to have  The Washington Times’ Higher Ground  delivered to your inbox every Sunday. How right he was. The rights of the people reflected in those 10 amendments encapsulated much of Mr. Madison’s views about government, the corrupting influence of power, and the need for safeguards against tyranny. Mr. Madison’s writings speak volumes to the present constitutional crisis in the country. SEE ALSO: America’s revolutionary founders would be anti-government extremists today Read them and weep. “The accumulation of all powers, Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.” “Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression.”  “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” In the years since the founders laid their lives on the line to pursue the dream of individual freedom and self-government, big government has grown bigger and the rights of the citizenry have grown smaller. However, there are certain principles — principles that every American should know — that undergird the American system of government and form the basis of our freedoms. The following seven principles are a good starting point for understanding what free government is really all about. First, the maxim that power corrupts is an absolute truth. SEE ALSO: Americans are overburdened by too many laws and too little freedom The second principle is that governments primarily exist to secure rights, an idea that is central to constitutionalism. The purpose of constitutionalism is to limit governmental power and ensure that the government performs its basic function: to preserve and protect our rights, especially our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and our civil liberties. The third principle revolves around the belief that no one is above the law, not even those who make the law. Fourth, separation of powers ensures that no single authority is entrusted with all the powers of government. The fact that the president today has dictatorial powers would have been considered an offense to every principle for which the Framers took their revolutionary stand. Fifth, a system of checks and balances, essential if a constitutional government is to succeed, strengthens the separation of powers and prevents legislative despotism. The Framers did not anticipate the emergence of presidential powers or the inordinate influence of corporate powers on governmental decision-making. Indeed, as recent academic studies now indicate, we are now ruled by a monied oligarchy that serves itself and not “we the people.” Sixth, representation allows the people to have a voice in government by sending elected representatives to do their bidding while avoiding the need for each and every citizen to vote on every issue considered by the government. Finally, federalism is yet another constitutional device to limit the power of government by dividing power and, thus, preventing tyranny. In America, the levels of government generally break down into federal, state, and local branches (which further divide into counties and towns or cities). Because local and particular interests differ from place to place, such interests are better handled at a more intimate level by local governments, not a bureaucratic national government. These seven vital principles have been largely forgotten in recent years, obscured by the haze of a centralized government, a citizenry that no longer thinks analytically, and schools that don’t adequately teach our young people about their history and their rights. Yet here’s the rub: while Americans wander about in their brainwashed states, their “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” has largely been taken away from them. The answer: get un-brainwashed. Learn your rights. Stand up for the founding principles. Make your voice and your vote count for more than just political posturing. Never cease to vociferously protest the erosion of your freedoms at the local and national level. Most of all, do these things today. If we wait until the votes have all been counted or hang our hopes on our particular candidate to win and fix what’s wrong with the country, “we the people” will continue to lose. Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His latest books “ The Erik Blair Diaries ” and “ Battlefield America: The War on the American People ” are available at  www.amazon.com . Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected]. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at  www.rutherford.org . Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission . Please read our comment policy before commenting. Click to Read More and View Comments Click to Hide Top of the Times Top of page Collection James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859 Featured content, about this collection. James Madison (1751-1836) is one of 23 presidents whose papers are held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items, spanning the period 1723-1859, captured in some 37,714 digital images. They document the life of the man who came to be known as the “Father of the Constitution” through correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal and financial documents, and his notes on the 1787 federal Constitutional Convention. The papers cover Madison’s years as a college student; as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Continental Congress, and Confederation Congress; as a delegate to the 1787 federal Constitutional Convention and the Virginia ratification convention of 1788; his terms in the House of Representatives, as secretary of state, and as president of the United States. Also documented are his retirement and the settlement of his estate; matters relating to his family, including his wife, Dolley Payne Madison; and his home, Montpelier, in Virginia. For information about the ownership and chain of custody of the Library’s Madison Papers, see the Provenance essay on this site, which is excerpted from the Index to the James Madison Papers (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1965). The Manuscript Division has a separate collection of Dolley Madison Papers, 1794-1852, for which there is an online finding aid . Notable correspondents represented in the James Madison Papers include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Albert Gallatin, Elbridge Gerry, Alexander Hamilton, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the Marquis de Lafayette, Robert Livingston, Dolley Payne Madison, George Mason, James Monroe, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Rush, Martin Van Buren, George Washington, and Noah Webster. Madison’s correspondence with Secretary of War James Armstrong, chiefly 1813-1814, fills all of Series 3. For a complete list of correspondents represented in this collection see the Index to the James Madison Papers . The Madison Papers are arranged in seven series. Series 1 - 6 have been indexed and microfilmed and are available digitally on this website. Series 7 contains papers that were received after the collection was indexed and microfilmed and are now available digitally on this website. Series 1.  General Correspondence, 1723-1859 , 90 volumes. Letters received, some drafts of letters sent, and related documents. Series 2.  Additional General Correspondence, 1780-1837 , 8 volumes. Letters received, some drafts of letters sent, and related documents. The Department of State loaned these papers to Senator William Cabell Rives in 1858 to help him write his biography of Madison. They were restored by Rives’s heirs to the Library of Congress a century later and added to the Madison Papers as Series 2. Series 3.  Madison-Armstrong Correspondence, 1813-1836 , 1 volume. Copies of letters written by James Madison to his Secretary of War John Armstrong, 1813-1814, and a few copies of letters written by Armstrong and others. Series 4.  Autobiography and Legal Documents, circa 1751-1852 , 1 volume. Madison’s autobiography; wills of James Madison, his parents James Madison, Sr., and Nelly Madison, and his wife, Dolley Payne Madison; documents relating to the settlement of Madison family estates and to the sale of James Madison’s papers to the federal government; and other legal and financial documents. 4a. James Madison’s Autobiography, ca. 1751-1829 4b. Madison Family Legal, Financial, and Estate Papers, 1779-1852 Wills of James Madison, his parents James Madison, Sr., and Nelly Madison, and his wife, Dolley Payne Madison; documents relating to the settlement of Madison family estates and to the sale of James Madison’s papers to the federal government; and other legal and financial documents. Series 5. Notes on Debates at the Federal Constitutional Convention, 1787, and in Congress, 1776-1787, with Copies of Letters, 1780-1788 , 6 volumes. 5a. Jefferson's Notes on Debates in the Continental Congress, June 7 - Aug. 1, 1776 5b. Madison's Original Notes on Debates in the Confederation Congress, 1782 to 1783; 1787, and Copies of Letters, 1780-1788 5c. John C. Payne's Copy of Madison's Original Note on Debates in the Confederation Congress, 1782-1783; 1787, and copies of letters, 1780-1788 5d  John C. Payne's Copy of Jefferson's Notes on Debates in the Continental Congress 5e  Madison's Original Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention, 1787 5f. John C. Payne's Copy of Madison's Original Notes on Debates in the Federal Constitutional Convention, 1787 Series 6. Miscellaneous Manuscripts, circa 1763-1836 . “A Brief System of Logick,” notes and drawings Madison made probably while a student at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University); notes on the Articles of Confederation, exports and navigation, federal governments, and natural history; Madison’s copy of Alexander Hamilton’s observations on federal government; two printed acts of Congress; resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives on Madison’s death; a Madison family tree. 6a. James Madison, “A Brief System of Logick,” 1763-1765 6b. James Madison, Notes on Exports and Navigation, 1769 6c. James Madison, Notes on the Articles of Confederation, July 15, 1775 6d. James Madison, Notes on Federal Governments, 1789 6e. Alexander Hamilton’s Observations on Federal Government, copy sent by Madison to John Mitchell Mason, January 12, 1810 6f. Two Acts of Congress Concerning the Army, signed by James Madison, January 27, 1814 (printed) 6g. Resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives on the death of James Madison, June 30, 1836 6h. Madison Family Tree 6i. James Madison, Notes on Natural History and Foreign Trade Series 7. Addenda, 1744-1845 . 2 containers. Original correspondence, 1780-1834, and other miscellaneous papers, including a Virginia convention speech, 1829; photocopies and abstracts of correspondence and other papers, 1744-1845; newspaper clippings, 1788-1833. Transcriptions Included on this Website Some of Madison’s documents are accompanied here by transcripts. These come from The Writings of James Madison , ed. Gaillard Hunt (New York: G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1900-1910). Hunt’s edition includes letters and documents written by Madison. The modern published edition of Madison’s papers (which includes letters received as well as letters sent) is The Papers of James Madison , ed. William T. Hutchinson (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962-1977; Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1978 - ).  This edition is available online as part of The American Founding Era, a subscription database from the University of Virginia Press, which is accessible onsite at the Library of Congress at eresources.loc.gov/record=e1000688 and on the publicly available Founders Online website hosted by the National Archives and Records Administration. There are some discrepancies in date and text between documents in these published editions and the manuscript images. In some cases, editors of the published editions used a different draft than the one the Library of Congress owns. In other cases, archivists at the Library of Congress and editors of the published editions arrived at different interpretations of dates, correspondents, or other data. 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Browse Collections Browse UWDC Items University of Wisconsin–Madison Email/Calendar Google Apps Loans & Requests Poster Printing Account Details Archives and Special Collections Requests Library Room Reservations Search the UW-Madison Libraries Catalog search. Color struck : essays on race and ethnicity in global perspective language View Online format_quote Citation Physical Locations Publication details. Williams, Hettie V Lanham, Md. : University Press of America, [2010] viii, 506 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Race, science, and human origins in Africa / Julius O. Adekunle -- Race and the rise of the Swahili culture / Julius O. Adekunle -- 'Caste'-[ing] gender : caste and patriarchy in ancient Hindu jurisprudence / Indira Jalli -- Comparative race and slavery in Islam, Judaism and Christianity : texts, practices, and current implications / Magid Shihade -- The dark craven Jew : race and religion in medieval Europe / James M. Thomas -- Growth of the Atlantic slave trade : racial slavery in the new world / Kwaku Owei-Tutu -- The yellow lady : mulatto women in the Suriname plantocracy / Hilde Neus -- Critical mixed race studies : new approaches to resistance and social justice / Andrew Jolivétte -- Militant multiraciality : rejecting race and rejecting the conveniences of complicity / Ranier Spencer -- Whiteness reconstructed : multiracial identity as a category of "new white" / Kerry Ann Rockquemore and David L. Brunsma -- Conversations in black and white : the limitations of binary thinking about race in America / Johanna E. Foster -- The necessity of a multiracial category in a race-conscious society / Francis Wardle -- Mixed race terminologies in the Americas : globalizing the Creole in the twenty first century / DeMond S. Miller, Jason D. Rivera, and Joel C. Yelin -- Examining the regional and multigenerational context of Creole and American Indian identity / Andrew Jolivétte -- Race, class, and power : the politics of multiraciality in Brazil / G. Reginald Daniel and Gary L. Haddow -- All mixed up : a new racial commonsense in global perspective / G. Reginald Daniel and Gary L. Haddow -- Black no more : African Americans and the 'new' race science / Hettie V. Williams -- Contesting identities of color : African female immigrants in the Americas / Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika -- Burdened intersections : black women and race, gender, and class / Marsha J. Tyson Darling -- Ethinc conflicts in the Middle East : a comparative analysis of communal violence within the matrix of the colonial legacy, globalization, and global stability / Magid Shihade -- Ethnic identity in China : the politics of cultural difference / Dru C. Gladney -- Shangri-la has forsaken us : China's ethinc minorities, identity, and government repression / Reza Hasmath -- The Russian/Chechen conflict and its consequences / Mariana Tepfenhart Items Related By Call Number Additional information, information from the web, library staff details, keyboard shortcuts, available anywhere, available in search results. 357 IMAGES James Madison James Madison, A Short History About this Collection The Enduring Confidence of James Madison James Madison: Fourth President in the Presidential Series by LA on a PPT COMMENTS James Madison James Madison, fourth president of the United States (1809-17) and one of the Founding Fathers of his country. His Virginia Plan furnished the basic framework and guiding principles of the Constitution. He collaborated on the Federalist papers and sponsored the Bill of Rights. James Madison James Madison was a Founding Father of the United States and the fourth American president, serving in office from 1809 to 1817. An advocate for a strong federal government, the Virginia-born ... James Madison and the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 An essay documenting Madison as intellectual leader and keeper of the memory of the gathering that created the United States Constitution in the summer of 1787. Managing History John C. Payne's Copy of James Madison's Original Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 . James Madison James Madison (March 16, 1751 - June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, ... Constitution and joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays that remains prominent among works of political science in American history. James Madison James Madison - Founding Father, Constitution, Federalist: Reentering the Virginia legislature in 1784, Madison defeated Patrick Henry's bill to give financial support to "teachers of the Christian religion." To avoid the political effect of his extreme nationalism, he persuaded the states-rights advocate John Tyler to sponsor the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which, aided ... An Introduction to the Life and Papers of James Madison An Introduction to the Life and Papers of James Madison. An essay by John C. A. Stagg, editor-in-chief of The Papers of James Madison, University of Virginia.. Asked to provide his biography, James Madison—fourth president of the United States, secretary of state, congressman from Virginia, delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and "Father of the Constitution"—noted his ... James Madison Scholarly essays, speeches, photos, and other resources on James Madison, the 4th US president (1809-1817), ... James Madison came from a prosperous family of Virginia planters, received an excellent education, and quickly found himself drawn into the debates over independence. In 1776, he became a delegate to the revolutionary Virginia ... James Madison: Life in Brief James Madison: Life in Brief. By J.C.A. Stagg. Like his close friend Thomas Jefferson, James Madison came from a prosperous family of Virginia planters, received an excellent education, and quickly found himself drawn into the debates over independence. In 1776, he became a delegate to the revolutionary Virginia Convention, where he worked ... Federalist No. 10 Federalist No. 10 is an essay written by James Madison as the tenth of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays initiated by Alexander Hamilton arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution.It was first published in The Daily Advertiser (New York) on November 22, 1787, under the name "Publius".Federalist No. 10 is among the most highly regarded of all American political writings. Full Text of The Federalist Papers The Federalist, commonly referred to as the Federalist Papers, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788.The essays were published anonymously, under the pen name "Publius," in various New York state newspapers of the time. The Federalist Papers were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed ... Articles and Essays James Madison and the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 An essay documenting Madison as intellectual leader and keeper of the memory of the gathering that created the United States Constitution in the summer of 1787. Provenance of the James Madison Papers In this essay Dorothy S. Eaton, formerly the specialist in early American history ... James Madison and the Bill of Rights In early 1787, when Virginia Congressman James Madison was preparing for the Constitutional Convention, he wrote an essay entitled "Vices of the Political System," detailing the flaws of the Articles of Confederation. One of the main problems with the Articles, in Madison's view, was that tyrannical majorities in the states passed unjust ... Federalist 51 (1788) On February 8, 1788, James Madison published Federalist 51—titled "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments."In this famous Federalist Paper essay, Madison explained how the Constitution's structure checked the powers of the elected branches and protected against possible abuses by the national government. James Madison Critical Essays Nonetheless, critics have generally agreed that Madison is solely responsible for essays 10, 14, 18-20, 37-58, 62, and 63, and that he collaborated with Hamilton on three others. Many critics ... Federalist 10 (1787) In Federalist 10, Madison fulfills the promise made in Federalist No. 9 to demonstrate the utility of the proposed union in overcoming the problem of faction. Madison's argument is the most systematic argument presented in the Federalist Papers, with syllogistically developed reasoning sustained virtually throughout. James Madison: Essay on Sovereignty, December 1835 James Madison: Essay on Sovereignty, December 1835. It has hitherto been understood, that the supreme power, that is, the sovereignty of the people of the States, was in its nature divisible; and was in fact divided, according to the Constitution of the U. States, between the States in their United, and the States in their individual capacities ... Federalist No. 43 by James Madison (1788) The full title of the essay is "The Same Subject Continued: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered." It was written as part of a series of essays collected and published in 1788 as The Federalist and later known as The Federalist Papers. These essays were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. PDF An Introduction to the Life and Papers of James Madison Madison recorded that he had been born on 5 March 1751 (Old Style) in King George County, Virginia, to James and Nelly Conway Madison, residents of Orange County, Virginia. He said no more about his parents and nothing of his nine siblings. When he mentioned his wife, Dolley Payne Todd, a Quaker widow from Philadelphia whom he married in 1794 ... James Madison Analysis Alley, Robert S., ed. James Madison on Religious Liberty. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1989. A collection of essays on Madison's intellectual and political legacy of American religious ... What Made America's Founders Perpetuate Slavery Years later James Madison, tacitly acknowledging that the American Union was a shotgun wedding, explained why the framers did not immediately abolish the slave trade in the U.S. Constitution. If ... For the National Gazette, [ca. 19 December] 1791 Printed copy (National Gazette, 19 Dec. 1791).While no Ms in his hand has been found, JM initialed his essays, including this one, in a bound volume of the National Gazette which is now in the Library of Congress. See JM's Notes for the National Gazette Essays, ca. 19 Dec. 1791-3 Mar. 1792, where similarities of style and thought are obvious, particularly in the segments labeled ... James Madison Criticism SOURCE: Ketcham, Ralph L. "James Madison and Judicial Review." Syracuse Law Review 8, no. 2 (spring 1957): 158-65. [In the following essay, Ketcham discusses Madison's changing position on ... The James Madison: Architect of the American Republic This essay about James Madison highlights his pivotal role in the formation of the United States. Known as the "Father of the Constitution" Madison's contributions to the drafting of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were instrumental in shaping American democracy. His work on the Federalist Papers provided critical arguments for ... The Federalist Papers Kindle Edition The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, originally written 1787-88, published in newspapers to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. 85 essays here republished by Chartwell Books in a 2017 edition. James Madison. James Madison's Original Notes on Debates at the Federal James Madison and the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 | Articles and Essays | James Madison ... An essay documenting Madison as intellectual leader and keeper of the memory of the gathering that created the United States Constitution in the summer of 1787. Bastille Day on the Upper East Side The celebration on Sunday, which starts at noon and runs until 5 p.m., will stretch from 59th to 63rd Street on Madison Avenue, and along 60th Street from Fifth to Madison Avenue. 7 lessons on tyranny from James Madison OPINION: "Take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties." — James Madison. James Madison, often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution," once predicted that the Bill of ... James Madison Papers, 1723-1859 James Madison (1751-1836) is one of 23 presidents whose papers are held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items, spanning the period 1723-1859, captured in some 37,714 digital images. They document the life of the man who came to be known as the "Father of the Constitution" through correspondence, personal notes ... Color struck : essays on race and ethnicity in global perspective Find databases subscribed to by UW-Madison Libraries, searchable by title and description. ... essays on race and ethnicity in global perspective. Author / Creator ... practices, and current implications / Magid Shihade -- The dark craven Jew : race and religion in medieval Europe / James M. Thomas -- Growth of the Atlantic slave trade : racial ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis