James Madison knew that he was living through an important epoch in human history. In November of 1782, he began keeping a congressional diary. He did not attempt to record everything that took place in Congress, but instead jotted down events that he suspected would be of interest to posterity and that he knew would […]
LATEST ARTICLES
James Madison on Federalism circa 1786-87
My focus is James Madison’s reflections upon federalism in the months prior to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia. My premise is that we can gain valuable insights into the origin of the American idea of federalism by examining this seminal framer’s thoughts on the subject as he prepared for the Convention in the summer of [...]
Slavery and the Constitution in Madisonian Perspective
There is no need to rehearse in detail the various debates over the Founders and slavery that have roiled academic and political waters since the mid-twentieth century. Suffice it to say that the main antagonists can plausibly be called Neo-Garrisonians and Neo-Lincolnians, after William Lloyd Garrison, the famous abolitionist, and Abraham Lincoln. Today these two […]
A Tentative “Last Word” on James Madison as Father of the Constitution
Professor Gibson has offered me the opportunity have the “last word” in our debate about James Madison, and I am glad to accept. First, though, I want to express my deepest appreciation for the essay he wrote—I think roughly twice as long as my own!—in response to my remarks about Madison’s “fatherhood” of the Constitution. […]
Madison and the Constitution: A Reply to Levinson
In his contribution to this symposium, Sanford Levinson joins a list of scholars denying James Madison the title “Father of the Constitution” and challenging, in their estimation, exaggerated claims about his influence in the constitutional moment of 1786 to 1789. For his part, Professor Levinson emphasizes the radical character of Madison’s universal veto of state […]
