Eleanor Finch
James Madison is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and he played a significant role in the creation of the US Constitution. Madison initially opposed the inclusion of a Bill of Rights, believing that the protection of individual liberties was more important than a paper barrier against violating basic rights. However, he eventually became an active proponent of a federal bill of rights, introducing a series of proposed amendments that formed the core of what became the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Madison also contributed to the Virginia Declaration of Rights, replacing the phrase all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion with all men are equally entitled to the full and free exercise of it. He led a committee that developed a list of amendments and a preamble, seeking to protect religious freedom, freedom of the press, and the right to a jury trial from infringement by state governments. Madison's proposal for the First Amendment included the protection of religious freedom and freedom of speech, writing, and publication.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Bill of Rights | Madison's proposal for the First Amendment was broadly consistent with the final product but was more descriptive. He wanted the civil rights of none to be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor should any national religion be established. Madison also wanted to protect the people's right to religious freedom, a free press, and trial by jury from being infringed by state governments. |
| Madison's proposal to apply parts of the Bill of Rights to the states was eliminated. | |
| Madison's change to the Constitution's preamble was also eliminated. He wanted to include a prefatory paragraph indicating that governmental power is vested by the people. | |
| Madison's Bill of Rights faced little opposition and was mostly adopted as proposed by the House of Representatives. | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights was partly influenced by Thomas Jefferson, who asserted that "a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth." | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights was also influenced by his desire to reconcile the Anti-Federalists to the Constitution and protect individual liberties without changing the structure of government. | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights included 19 amendments, of which 17 were approved by the House and 12 by the Senate. | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights became known as the Tenth and Ninth Amendments. | |
| Madison supported the extension of slavery into the West during the Missouri crisis of 1819–1821, asserting that the spread of slavery would not lead to more slaves but would improve their condition. | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights was influenced by his belief that the principal threats to basic liberties came from the states, not the federal government. | |
| Madison's proposal for the Bill of Rights was also influenced by his desire to address the criticism that the Constitution lacked a bill of rights. |
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What You'll Learn
Madison's commitment to individual liberties
James Madison is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and he played a significant role in the creation of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Despite initially opposing the inclusion of a bill of rights, Madison is known for his commitment to individual liberties.
In the 1780s, Madison believed that the principal threats to basic liberties came from the states, not the federal government. However, events in the 1790s, such as the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, persuaded him that an unchecked federal government could be equally dangerous. Madison joined Thomas Jefferson in leading the Democratic-Republican Party, which opposed many Federalist policies, including the establishment of a national bank.
Madison also contributed to the Virginia Declaration of Rights, replacing the phrase "all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion" with "all men are equally entitled to the full and free exercise of it." This reflected his belief in religious freedom and equal rights for all.
In 1789, Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments in Congress, which formed the core of what became the Bill of Rights. He emphasised the role of public opinion in a republic and sought to address the fears of those who believed that the Constitution might threaten liberty. Madison's proposal included a key amendment to protect the people's right to religious freedom, a free press, and trial by jury from infringement by state governments.
In conclusion, James Madison's commitment to individual liberties was a driving force behind his contributions to the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He sought to protect religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, and his influence on the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional government is significant.
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Opposition to a bill of rights
James Madison is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He played a significant role in the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional government and foreign policy. Madison initially opposed the idea of creating a bill of rights, and there were several reasons for this opposition.
Firstly, Madison and other Federalists believed that the Constitution did not grant the federal government the power to take away people's rights. They argued that the federal government's powers were limited and specified in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Madison also doubted the effectiveness of "paper barriers" in protecting basic rights, considering them insufficient. Federalists asserted that the state governments retained all rights and powers not granted to the federal government, and thus a bill of rights was unnecessary and potentially dangerous. They believed that any listing of rights could be interpreted as exhaustive, and rights omitted might be considered surrendered.
Additionally, Madison and the Federalists made a distinction between state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution. They contended that in forming state constitutions, the people delegated to the state all rights not explicitly reserved. However, in the U.S. Constitution, the people or states retained all rights not granted to the federal government. Hence, they argued, a bill of rights was not required. Madison also believed that the principal threats to basic liberties came from the states, not the federal government. This belief was shaped by his experiences in the 1780s and 1790s, leading him to become a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, which opposed certain Federalist policies.
Furthermore, Madison was concerned about the potential impact of a bill of rights on public opinion. He recognized that many people feared the Constitution might threaten their liberties, but he wanted to allay these fears. Madison emphasized the role of public opinion in a republic and worked to address concerns without making the inclusion of a bill of rights a precondition for ratification. He focused on rights-related amendments, avoiding proposals that would have structurally altered the government.
Despite Madison's initial opposition, a combination of electoral politics and a shift in his thinking led him to become an active proponent of a federal bill of rights. During his 1788 campaign for a seat in the First Congress, Madison promised to support a bill of rights. In June 1789, he introduced a series of proposed amendments in Congress, which formed the core of what became the Bill of Rights. Madison's proposal for the First Amendment, protecting civil rights and freedom of speech, religion, and the press, was consistent with the final product, though more descriptive.
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Support for a stronger central government
James Madison is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and he had a wide influence on the founding of the nation and the early development of American constitutional government and foreign policy. During his first stint in Congress in the 1780s, Madison favoured amending the Articles of Confederation to provide for a stronger central government.
Madison was a key member of a band of ultra-nationalists led by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and George Washington. This partnership was instrumental in convening the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, which drafted the U.S. Constitution. Madison was a prime author of what became known as The Federalist—a series of newspaper and pamphlet articles arguing for ratification of the Constitution. In "Federalist Number 10," Madison asserted that private rights and the public good would be best protected in a single large republic rather than a collection of small republics, cementing his reputation as a nationalist and a political genius.
Madison initially opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution, considering it unnecessary and insufficient to protect individual liberties. However, he eventually became an active proponent of a federal bill of rights due to a shift in his political thinking and electoral considerations. In 1789, Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments in Congress, forming the core of what became the Bill of Rights. He emphasised the role of public opinion in a republic and sought to address concerns about the potential threat to liberty posed by the Constitution. Madison's proposal for the First Amendment guaranteed religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
Madison's goal was to reconcile Anti-Federalists to the Constitution and protect individual liberties without changing the structure of government. He led a committee that developed a list of amendments and a preamble, aiming to weave them into the text of the Constitution rather than adding them as amendments. While Madison lost some of these provisions, he continued to support the bill of rights he had proposed. The final Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, fulfilled Madison's objectives by limiting the powers of the national government while preserving the structure of government.
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Extension of slavery into the West
James Madison, a Virginian who owned slaves, had a long public career that included a leading role in the federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 and two terms as president of the United States (1809–1817). Madison's record on the issue of slavery was mixed. While he supported legislation allowing slaveholders to free their workers without the approval of state or local authorities, he never liberated his own slaves. Madison opposed the African slave trade throughout his career, but late in life, he defended the westward expansion of slavery.
Madison remained out of the public debate over the Missouri Compromise but privately complained about the North's opposition to the extension of slavery. During this period, he supported the extension of slavery into the West, asserting that the spread of slavery would not lead to more slaves. Instead, he believed that it would improve their conditions, accelerate emancipation, ease racial tensions, and increase partial manumissions. Madison's support for westward expansion contradicted his earlier stance on the settlement of freed slaves in the West. In 1789, he argued that if formerly enslaved people were settled along the frontier, they would clash with white pioneers, and if they were relocated further west, they would be massacred by Native Americans.
Madison's Notes from the Constitutional Convention reveal his thoughts on slavery. In a speech on June 6, 1787, Madison wrote:
> We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man.
This sentence is one of the most famous quotes attributed to Madison on slavery. However, it is worth noting that Madison's Notes are the only record of this statement, as no other notetakers from that day included it in their records. Madison's Notes also reveal his belief that the institution of slavery formed a "line of discrimination" dividing the Union.
In his postwar letters, Madison continued to criticise the South's "peculiar institution" of slavery. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson in 1784, Madison praised the Marquis de Lafayette's antislavery stance as proof of his "humanity." When lawyer Caleb Wallace sought Madison's advice on a constitution for the new state of Kentucky, Madison recommended barring the legislature "from licensing the importation of slaves." Madison also helped defeat a bill to repeal a Revolutionary-era law permitting private manumissions.
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Support for the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799. The Kentucky Resolutions were authored by Thomas Jefferson, while the Virginia Resolutions were written by James Madison. The Resolutions were produced primarily as campaign material for the 1800 United States presidential election. They were written in response to the federal Alien and Sedition Acts, which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures deemed unconstitutional. The Acts made it a crime to:
> “write, print, utter or publish [...] any false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings” that would have the effect of bringing office holders “into contempt or disrepute” in the opinion “of the good people of the United States.
The Resolutions argued that the states had the right and duty to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional if the Constitution did not authorise them. They asserted that states could judge the constitutionality of federal government laws and decrees, and that each state had the power to declare federal laws unconstitutional and void. The Virginia Resolutions introduced the idea of "'interposition'", expressing the right of states to "interpose" to prevent harm caused by unconstitutional laws.
Madison's Virginia Resolutions said that by enacting the Alien and Sedition Acts, Congress was exercising:
> "a power not delegated by the Constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto; a power, which more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is levelled against that right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right."
The Kentucky Resolutions of 1799 added that when states determine that a law is unconstitutional, nullification by the states is the proper remedy.
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Frequently asked questions
Madison initially opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights, doubting that "paper barriers" were sufficient protection. However, he eventually became an active proponent, introducing a series of proposed amendments that formed the core of what became the Bill of Rights.
Madison wanted his amendments woven into the text of the Constitution, not simply appended as amendments. He sought to protect the people's right to religious freedom, a free press, and trial by jury from infringement by state governments.
Madison replaced the phrase "all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion" with "all men are equally entitled to the full and free exercise of it."
Madison, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, wrote a series of pro-ratification essays under the pseudonym Publius. Madison wrote fewer than 20 of the 85 essays, including Federalist No. 10, which cemented his reputation as a nationalist and political genius.
Madison is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, playing a significant role in the nation's founding and the early development of its constitutional government and foreign policy. He was a key figure in the movement towards a federal convention and supported a stronger central government.
