Category — James Madison

The Constitutional Convention was an astonishing accomplishment. Some say it was a miracle. The members of the convention surmounted numerous hurdles - including agreeing to exceed the bounds of their instructions from Congress. Bearing the heat, flies, and short tempers, the delegates pounded through numerous debates and arrived at a consensus.   Read the rest of this entry »

In Federalist No. 19, Madison and Hamilton provide another history lesson to their readers. While No. 18 focused on ancient Grecian republics, this essay deals with more contemporary examples, namely that of the Germanic states and the Swiss cantons.   Read the rest of this entry »

Here's something you might want to download and listen to on your way to work. It's the first (and possibly last) of its kind, a podcast of our earlier post on Federalist No. 10.   Read the rest of this entry »

Hamilton and Madison draw on their study of ancient history to show that even the wisest confederacies are prone to dissension and dissolution. They conclude that there is more to fear from the anarchy of its members than from the tyranny of its federation.   Read the rest of this entry »

The system of checks and balances we gloss over in the education system deserves a closer look. The Constitution is a contract that ensures those checks and balances and that the government is ultimately answerable to the people. It's not a "living document" as so many would have us believe. No lawyer believes in a living contract. If something isn’t working properly, then the contract must be amended, and contracts are amended every day all over this country. In fact, the United States Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times. That doesn't mean that the contract is subject to interpretation - just amendment through the designated process.   Read the rest of this entry »

In this essay Madison argues for American exceptionalism. He dismisses the argument that says "the form of government recommended for your adoption is a novelty in the political world." Rather he sees the republic as "the glory of the people of America" for "they accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society."   Read the rest of this entry »

James Madison was another indispensable man. Every American owes a debt of gratitude to the man called the Father of the Constitution. Madison was instrumental in getting the convention together, hammering out compromises during the convention, in fighting for ratification, and in getting the Bill of Rights through the first Congress. Oh, and he also served as the 4th President of the United States.   Read the rest of this entry »

A quick summary of the 9th Annual Bill of Rights celebration at the Wrigley Mansion with Gary Johnson as a keynote speaker.   Read the rest of this entry »

All of the words in this week's WWTFT puzzle are taken out of the US Constitution, specifically from Article 1.   Read the rest of this entry »

Whose government is it anyway? The first words of the Constitution refer to "We the People" as the source of government and the Founders went to great lengths to limit the power that government could exercise in our name. But somewhere between then and now something went terribly wrong.   Read the rest of this entry »