THINKER'S ALMANAC - March 16

What can the shortest U.S. president teach us about planning and executing big ideas?

Subject:  Government - Madison and the U.S. Constitution

Event:  Birthday of James Madison, 1751

Philosophy is common sense with big words. -James Madison

James Madison, who was born on this day in 1751, had a soft voice and stood only five feet, four inches tall.  Nevertheless, he is remembered today as “the father of the Constitution.”  Even though he is seldom the first name that comes up when you think of the Founding Fathers, nevertheless, it would be hard to point to one person who contributed more both to envisioning our Constitution and to creating it.

Before the Constitutional Convention began in May 1787, Madison drafted a memorandum that outlined a vision for the new government; it was called Vices of the Political System of the United States.  Madison’s memo is a remarkable synthesis of history and political theory, and it provided the outline of what would become the U.S. Constitution.  

During the Convention, Madison took detailed notes, recording the progress of the convention and its various debates.  Because delegates to the convention had agreed to keep their discussion secret, Madison’s notes were not published until he and all the delegates had died in 1840, 53 years after the convention in Philadelphia.

Madison’s work was not finished when the Constitutional Convention adjourned on September 17, 1787.  The new constitution still needed to be ratified by each state.  To persuade them, Madison teamed with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to publish The Federalist Papers, which presented the key arguments for why the government prescribed by the Constitution would be the best for the United States.

Madison later became the Chief Executive of the government that he helped create, serving as U.S. President from 1809 to 1817. During his presidency, he led the country as it faced its first war -- the War of 1812.

Each year on March 16th, the American Library Association celebrates Freedom of Information Day.  It is a day that was intentionally created to coincide with Madison’s birthday, for he made many contributions to creating a free and open government.  

In his 2021 book The Constitution of Knowledge, Jonathan Rauch praises Madison’s unique contribution to the founding of the United States:

What set him apart ws a grasp of political systems as intricate, self-adjusting, constantly changing social machines.  He more than anyone else translated the philosophical principles of Locke and the French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, among others, into  working political order; and he did so with no successful precedent to consult.  History could show him only a long record of failures, both democratic and authoritarian. (3)

In a letter that he wrote long after leaving the presidency, we can see that Madison was still concerned about the key factors that established and maintained a strong, effective government:

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. (2)

If you visit Washington, D.C., you won’t find a James Madison monument; however, just about everything you see there that’s related to a functioning, enduring democracy has his fingerprints on it.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What were James Madison’s contributions to the founding of the United States?

Challenge:  Founding Fathers Know Best:  Do some research on quotations by the Founding Fathers.  What is one quotation by a specific Founding Father that you find insightful?  Quote it, and explain why you like it. 

Sources:

1-Rakove, Jack.  “James Madison and the Constitution”

2-James Madison to W. T. Barry, August 4, 1822

3.-Rauch, Jonathan. The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2021: 81.