James Madison, “Father of the Constitution”

by James and Barbara Rose

“What we know today about the (Constitutional) Convention we owe largely to (Madison’s) daily record of all that transpired.  Day after day for the entire 99 days, this man, who was always in frail health, never missed attendance.  He said later that the ordeal almost killed him, but, nevertheless, he was sustained in his Herculean task” “His object was to preserve the history of a Constitution on which would be staked the happiness of a people great even in its infancy, and possibly the cause of liberty throughout the world.‘” ¹

 “As ‘Father of the Constitution,’ James Madison was the principal author of the document. In 1788, he wrote over a third of The Federalist Papers (29 of 85), still the most influential commentary on the Constitution.  He suggested the separation of powers with a system of checks and balances.  He also suggested federalism—that powers be distributed between the national and state governments. These two elements of our government have been widely copied by other countries and have been proclaimed by many political scientists, both American and foreign, to be brilliant ideas!” ²

“As a leader in the first Congresses, he drafted many basic laws and was responsible for the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and thus is also known as the “Father of the Bill of Rights.” ³ 


His chief concern was to limit the power of the federal government.  He was one of the most ardent defenders of the Constitution” ⁴

In a note opened after his death in 1836, he stated, “The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.” ⁵

“One scholar has written of Madison as the Founding Father ‘whose chief interest in life was to prove that Americans had been chosen by Providence for an experiment to test man’s capacity for self government.‘” ⁶

Historian Garry Wills wrote:  “As a framer and defender of the Constitution he had no peer…. The finest part of Madison’s performance as president was his concern for the preserving of the Constitution…. No man could do everything for the country – not even Washington.  Madison did more than most, and did some things better than any. That was quite enough.⁷

QUOTES OF MADISON

“As the people of the United States enjoy the great merit of having established a system of Government on the basis of human rights, and of giving it a form without example, which, as they believe, unites the greatest national strength with the best security for public order and individual liberty, they owe to themselves, to their posterity and to the world, a preservation of the system in its purity, its symmetry, and its authenticity.” ⁸

“The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world. Woe to the ambition that would meditate the destruction of either!” ⁹

“It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage… Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.” ¹⁰

The Constitution: “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical states of the Revolution.“ ¹¹

Separation of Powers: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” ¹²

“The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities to be impressed with it.” ¹³

A Proclamation for to set aside a day “for the devout purposes of rendering the Sovereign of the universe and benefactor of Mankind the public homage due to His holy attributes; of acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the manifestations of His divine displeasure; of seeking His merciful forgiveness and His assistance in the great duties of repentance and amendment, and especially of offering fervent supplications that in the present season of calamity and war He would take the American people under His peculiar care and protection; that He would guide their public councils, animate their patriotism, and bestow His blessing on their arms; that He would inspire all nations with a love of justice and concord and with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy religion to do to others as they would require others should do to them; and, finally, that, turning the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which sway their councils against us, He would hasten a restoration of the blessing of peace.” Given at Washington, the 9th of July, A.D. 1812.¹⁴

A Proclamation by James Madison, given at the city of Washington on the 4th day of March, A.C. 1815 and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-ninth:

No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States.  His kind providence originally conducted them to one of the best portions of the dwelling place allotted for the great family of the human race.  He protected and cherished them under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their early days.  Under His fostering care their habits, their sentiments, and their pursuits prepared them for a transition in due time to a state of independence and self-government.  In the arduous struggle by which it was attained they were distinguished by multiplied tokens of His benign interposition.  During the interval which succeeded, He reared them into the strength and endowed them with the resources which have enabled them to assert their national rights and to enhance their national character in another arduous conflict, which is now so happily terminated by a peace and reconciliation with those who have been our enemies.  And to the same Divine Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so rightly enjoyed in this favored land.  

It is for blessings such as these, and more especially for the restoration of the blessing of peace, that I now recommend that the second Thursday in April next be set apart as a day on which the people of every religious denomination may in their Solemn assemblies unite their hearts and their voices in a freewill offering to their Heavenly Benefactor of their homage of thanksgiving and of their songs of praise.¹⁵

Originally published by the American Christian History Institute, Eagle’s Aerie
James B. Rose, with wife and ministry partner Barbara, are forerunners in the field of American Christian Education. Mr. Rose has over 35 years experience as classroom teacher, headmaster, Bible college professor and Chairman of the Department of Education, home-schooling principal and parent, a licensed minister of the Gospel, conference speaker, author, compiler, and President of the American Christian History Institute. Together Mr. and Mrs. Rose conduct Christian History seminars, and conferences for day-school and home-school constituents. Presently, Mr.Rose is Superintendent of the American Christian Academy Extension Campus of Anderson, California. Mr and Mrs. Rose minister to approximately 500 home-school families and over 1,200 students in 12 counties of Northern California. Mr. Rose is the author of the classic curriculum guide of the Principle Approach®, A Guide to American Christian Education for the Home and School (1987). The Roses reside  in Redding, California.. They are the parents of four home-schooled children, now ages 21-27, and grandparents of eight.
Used by permission, ©2010.

The Education of James Madison: A Model for Today
by Mary Elaine Swanson
“It has been said that never have there been so many outstanding political leaders assembled under one roof than when the Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia in 1787… Preeminent among these distinguished leaders for his learning and sagacity was James Madison… Admittedly, James Madison was a scholar by nature, but without the particular kind of education he received…it is doubtful that he would have become the remarkably creative statesman known as ‘the Father of the Constitution’… Madison’s well rounded and thorough education—and its end result—should be thought-provoking for parents and teachers today. It is hoped that through this book they will be inspired to use the principles and methods of Madison’s education… [toward preparing] tomorrow’s leaders in politics, business, and the arts.” —Mary Elaine Swanson, from the Introduction

Hardcover, 447 pages
Price $25.00

1. Mary-Elaine Swanson, The Education of James Madison, A Model for Today (Montgomery, Alabama: The Hoffman Center for the Family, 1992),  191.
2. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia (http://wikipedia.com).
3. Wood, Gordon S., “Is There a ‘James Madison Problem’?” in Wood, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, (Penguin Press, 2006), 141-72.
4. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.
5. The James Madison Center (jmu.edu/Madison/center/main_page).
6. Swanson, 84.
7. Garry Wills, James Madison (Times Books, 2002), 164
8. Supplement to the letter of November 27, 1830, to A. Stevenson (Madison, 1865,  IV, 138).
9. Outline, September 1829, (Madison, 1865, IV, page 20).
10. In a 1785 session of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia, explaining his “Religious Freedom, A Memorial Remonstrance.”
11. Federalist Paper, No. 37, 1788.
12. Federalist Paper, No. 47.
13. Swanson, 148-149.
14. Swanson, 350-351.
15. Swanson, 355-356.