“Every word of the Constitution decides a question between power and liberty.” James Madison is probably best known for his efforts passing the Constitution by the Constitutional Convention, being President during the War of 1812 and his marriage to Dolley (People were always saying “Hey isn’t that Dolley’s husband?? And this was before Ho Ho’s, Ding Dongs and Twinkies").
After the American Revolution, the colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation. This basically meant a weak central government and stronger state governments. Under the Articles, the central government lacked a federal judiciary, executive powers, and the ability to raise revenue through taxes. In reality, the central government also lacked the power to maintain any kind of standing Army (because the states would have to pay for their soldiers). This was especially highlighted by Shay’s Rebellion. The result was that many leaders of the day decided that the Articles of Confederation needed to be revisited, and modified, to allow for a stronger central government. Madison was instrumental in organizing the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during 1787. While many thought the purpose of the convention was to tweak the Articles, once it got started it became clear that it would be better to scrap them and start over from scratch. Madison was prepared for this, bringing a proposal that would include 3 branches of government. His proposal favored the larger states. An alternative plan was presented that gave all states equal representation. Roger Sherman helped broker the “Great Compromise”, presenting for us the system we have today where the states are represented equally in the Senate and the people similarly epitomized in the House. At that time (and until the 17th Amendment) the Senators were selected by the State Legislatures, not elected by the people.
Madison was generally described as a reserved, quiet and thoughtful man. During the debates over the Constitution, he was one of the more outspoken members of the convention. His primary opponent was Patrick Henry, one of the great orators of his day. However, Madison was well prepared through his meticulous research on forms of government and the benefits of his system. In order to get some of the delegates to vote for passage, he had to agree to a Bill of Rights, which he opposed. He felt that spelling out some rights would automatically deny others that weren’t spelled out.
Once the convention approved the Constitution, it had to then be approved by the states. As you should know from the collection of quarters in your pocket (they were released in the order that the states approved the Constitution or became states) Delaware was the first to approve the Constitution on Dec 7, 1787, ‘a date which will live in infamy’ (oh wait, wrong president). The constitution took effect once New Hampshire approved it on Jun 21, 1788. However everyone knew that it was vital to get New York to approve it. In order to argue his case, Madison (along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay) wrote the Federalist Papers, which are basically a detailed argument as to why New York should approve the constitution. Back in that time, authorship was not always known. In the case of political debate it kept the focus of the debate on the topic and not the personalities.
I hadn’t intended to spend so much space on the Constitution, but it really is, in my opinion, the biggest piece of Madison’s legacy. He was a two-term president (1808 – 1816) and bungled us into a war with England in 1812, a war, that nobody really won. You could argue that we won simply by surviving the war. There are several things that led us into war: the British impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions, the desire to expand into the Northwest Territory and the British support of the Native Americans.
There are several notable events that took place during the War of 1812.
- The burning of DC
- Dolley Madison personally saw to the evacuation of the White House and saved an original draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and a famous Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington.
- The defense of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry was the event that would inspire Francis Scott Key to compose the poem “The Star Spangled Banner.”
- The Battle of New Orleans, which actually took place after the peace treaty was signed, would launch Andrew Jackson into national prominence and later, his own presidency.
After he left office in 1816, he retired to his home in Montpelier, not far from Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. Madison became the Rector of the University of Virginia after Jefferson’s death in 1826. He remained active in politics until his death in 1836, making him one of the presidents that lived the longest after they retired.
Impress your friends and family with these tidbits:
- James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were once arrested together for taking a carriage ride in the countryside on a Sunday, which was illegal in Vermont.
- Dolley Madison was the first active First Lady. She actually performed many of the official First Lady duties for Thomas Jefferson since we was a widower.
- He was the first of 6 presidents named James, the most common first name of presidents.
- He was the shortest president at 5’4” and he never weighed more than 100 pounds.
- Only sitting president to come under enemy fire. This happened when the British attacked DC during the War of 1812.
- The Bill of Rights sent to the states for ratification actually had 12 amendments, not 10. I bought a copy of the Bill of Rights and when I opened it I was surprised that there were 12 amendments. Two of the amendments were not approved:
- One that stated that if Congress approved a pay increase, it would not take effect until the next Congress. This one was ratified by the final states in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s as the 27th amendment. This is interesting because it was a University of Texas undergraduate student, Gregory Watson, that asserted in a paper that there was no time limit for the states to ratify the amendments. His professor gave him a poor grade and disagreed. Greg Watson started a campaign to get the remaining states needed to ratify the amendment and it was finally approved in 1992. Since then Congress has added an expiration date.
- The other dealt with the number of citizens per each representative, therefore setting the size of the House of Representatives. This one was never approved.
- Roy Nafziger was fascinated with Dolley Madison and used her as the inspiration for his cakes, which he felt were of a high enough quality that a socialite like Dolley could enjoy them.
Books
James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights by Richard Labunski
The Federalist Papers by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
Excellent, as always!
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