MADISON, JAMES.   Term Paper ID:28210 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines his role as "Father of the Constitution." His political theory, system of checks & balances, Bill of Rights.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines his role as "Father of the Constitution." His political theory, system of checks & balances, Bill of Rights. Paper Introduction: James Madison (1751-1836) was one of the leading promoters for the independence of the American colonies. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Madison was elected a member of the convention which drew up the Virginia constitution. In 1780 he was a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Convention and during the three years of that body he strongly advocated the establishment of a central government. As a member of the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention which was convened in 1787 in Philadelphia, Madison drew up an outline for the Convention which basically was an expansion of the Virginia Constitution. Among the more notable features was the concept of a balanced system of government in which national authority would be limited by reserving certain powers to local governments and to the people. The creation of a nat Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Although GeorgeWashington was chosen as president of the Convention, it was James Madisonwho was the Akey driving force in the formation of the Constitution fromorganizing the Convention, setting its scope and tone to ironing out everyobstacle that threatened its success@ (left/just/lib/sc/ht/fed/mbio.html) Basically what Madison and the Founding Fathers wanted was a balancedgovernment. Aftersubmission of the Constitution to the states for ratification, Madison,together with Alexander Hamilton and James Jay, wrote a series of paperscalled The Federalist. For members of the Convention, such asMadison, who favored a federal constitution, three such devices weredistinguished. The final draftof the Constitution embodied his belief that liberty and the rights ofproperty could best be harmonized and secured in a federal republic withpowers divided between the individual states and a supreme federalgovernment, each with internal checks and balances to prevent the rise ofarbitrary power. Works CitedCarey, G.W. As prominent as Madison=s contributions were to defining the structureof the new central government and drafting the Constitution, he also madeessential contributions to the ratification of the Constitution. The secondadvantage of a good constitutional government resided in the mechanism ofrepresentation itself. This legislative/executive system would becapped by an independent judiciary (the Supreme Court). The third element was the belief that the aristocracy and thedemocracy must be made to neutralize each other. Twelve stateswere represented by 55 delegates at the Convention. The eighteenth century was dominated intellectually by thescientific work of Newton. This was thedevice that Madison and others developed in order to establish a balancedgovernment. This was in keeping with the major goal of Madison=s political theorywhich was the prevention of tyranny. Rebels and Democrats. The United States Constitution was drafted by the ConstitutionalConvention which was held from May 25 to September 17, 1787 and becameeffective in 1789 following its ratification by the states. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Madison not only thought that political decisions should not be madeby the popular majority, he also thought that the elite politicalleadership should not predicate their decisions on the majority viewprevailing at the time a decision was required (Carey 121). The American Political Tradition. Madisonundertook to develop a compromise between Athe power of the majorities andthe power of the minorities, between the political equality of all adultcitizens on the one side, and the desire to limit their sovereignty on theother@ (Dahl 4). This system of checks and balances, which was the central feature ofhis political theory, was perhaps his major contribution to theConstitution. In transferring this concept to practical politics, Madison had tosearch for constitutional devices that would force various interests tocheck and control each other. At the outbreak of theRevolutionary War in 1776, Madison was elected a member of the conventionwhich drew up the Virginia constitution. Earle,(Ed.). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1955.Hofstadter, Richard. P. The fear that the Constitution did not provide sufficient safeguardsof fundamental human rights was another objection to a central government.This objection was overcome by Madison and other supporters of theConstitution when they proposed amendments to the Constitution of a Bill ofRights. Madison, then, viewedrepresentatives chosen by the people to be wiser and more deliberate thanthe people themselves would be in a mass assemblage. New York: Random House, 195 .http:/www.left justified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/fed/mbio.html March 23, 2 . Because of these significant contributions, as well ashis advocacy for ratification of the Constitution by the new states, JamesMadison has been rightly called the Father of the Constitution. Although Madison believed that government should proceed from thepeople, he also recognized the factor of self-interestin man. James Madison (1751-1836) was one of the leading promoters for theindependence of the American colonies. These papers explained to the people the need for acentral government as put forth in the Constitution and also stronglyadvocated ratification of the Constitution which needed two-thirds of thestates to ratify it. He believed thatfactions consisting of less than a majority could be effectively controlledthrough legislative voting and that the development of a majority factionwould be prevented through the creation of a Anumerous and extended@electorate which is Adiverse in interests@ (Dahl 16). New York: Random House, 1948.James Madison, quoted in E.H. When the Constitutional Convention ended in September 1787,the Constitution was sent to the individual states for ratification. The creation of anational chief executive and the establishment of a bicameral nationallegislature were other key contributions made by Madison. The Federalist. In 178 he was a delegate fromVirginia to the Continental Convention and during the three years of thatbody he strongly advocated the establishment of a central government. By incorporating a system of checks and balances in the Constitutionand reserving certain rights to the states, Madison believed that both thepolitical abuses of government and individual self-interest could becontrolled. The first was the advantage of a Federated government inmaintaining order against popular uprisings or majority rule. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956.Douglas, E. Senate would comprise two senators from each state, two Senate votesfrom each state, thereby protecting small states from being overwhelmed bythe bigger states. There were many objections to the Constitution sincea large body of people believed in a confederation of sovereign statesrather than a central government. This concept resulted inthe formation of two houses of the legislature, with a strong, impartialexecutive armed with veto power. His greatest achievement as a statesman, however, was hisrole as Father of the Constitution. With this type of legislative structure, the body of what would be theU.S. As he wrote in The Federalist: In forming a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, oblige it to control itself (Carey 11 ). Tyranny was defined by Madison asAthe accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, inthe same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, may be justly pronouncedthe very definition of tyranny@ (Madison, quoted in Earle 313). A representative government, Madison said, wouldArefine and enlarge the public view by passing them through the medium of achosen body of citizens@ (Hofstadter 8). Men had found a rational order in the universeand they hoped it could be transferred to politics. Madison spoke in themost precise Newtonian language when he said that such a Anaturalgovernment must be so constituted that its several constituent parts may bytheir mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their properplaces@ (Hofstadter 8). ARepublicanism and the Federalist@ Political Science Review 19, 199 .Dahl, R.A. Madison saw the republic (synonymous at that time withrepresentative democracy) as the required form of political structure toinsure that tyranny would be prevented (Douglas viii). This paperwill examine Madison=s many contributions to the Constitution and theirsignificance. As amember of the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention whichwas convened in 1787 in Philadelphia, Madison drew up an outline for theConvention which basically was an expansion of the Virginia Constitution.Among the more notable features was the concept of a balanced system ofgovernment in which national authority would be limited by reservingcertain powers to local governments and to the people. Madison helped frame the Bill of Rights and it is likely that theConstitution may not have been ratified without these Amendments. The Billof Rights moved quickly Athrough the process in the states as theConstitution was ratified and was adopted within six months of theConstitution@ (leftjust/lib/sc/ht/fed/mbio.html) After ratification of the Constitution in 1789, Madison was elected tothe first House of Representatives and was elected President of the UnitedStates in 18 8. 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