Where's James Madison's Eternal Flame? (On Madison's Legacy)

In the Washington Post Monday, there was an article about the new restoration plans for Montpelier, the historic Virginia home of James Madison. The Post interviewed the president of the Montpelier Foundation, Michael C. Quinn, and reported, "With no monument on the Mall or currency bearing Madison's image, the man Quinn calls 'chief architect of the American Republic' and author of the Bill of Rights is suffering from a lack of celebrity equal to his contribution to the nation."

One day, my family and I drove down to see Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello. Now Jefferson is of course on the nickel (and the two-dollar bill), and has a big monument in Washington, D.C., near all the famous cherry blossoms. And Monticello is quite a popular tourist attraction. We had to wait for a while to be given the tour through his house, and after that we walked around the grounds and saw, among other things, Jefferson's famous headstone in his family cemetery, which now has a ten-foot-high iron fence around it to discourage souvenir seekers.

We had lunch and decided, on the way home, to go see Montpelier, too. Madison's home is much farther off the beaten path, and so we drove along a little Virginia back road. We were getting close to the home itself and could see it, but just before we got there I saw one of those little brown-and-white National Park Service signs, and it said, "Madison's Grave." So I quickly slowed down, turned at the sign, and before you knew it I was on a gravel road. We started to go across a bridge, but had to stop quickly and back up, because it was too narrow for two cars and a pickup had already started across it. On the other side of the bridge, we drove for a while along the winding gravel road.

Eventually, we came to the Madison graveyard. There was no one there except for two guys in another pickup. They were just leaving. So there we were: My wife, my son, and I, at James Madison's grave. No ranger from the National Park Service. No doyenne from the Montpelier Foundation. No tourists, clicking away with their cameras. Nobody. We were out in the middle of nowhere. There was a three-foot-high fence around the graveyard, which was the size of a medium-sized room. Heck, if we'd had a pickup, we could have taken James Madison's headstone and driven off with it. Taken Dolley's, too.

I thought: How strange. The father of the Constitution, the author of the Bill of Rights, the coauthor — with Hamilton and Jay — of The Federalist Papers: and this is his monument. Three of the great documents of Western political thought, three of the great texts of liberty, but Madison has no mausoleum like Lenin, no eternal flame like Kennedy, not even a well-visited cemetery like Jefferson. How strange.

As I said, it is a very poignant memory for me, but it is neither entirely sad nor entirely uplifting. On the one hand, one can conclude from this incident that we forget our great men and what we owe them, and that is sad. But, on the other hand, perhaps it is a measure of Madison's success that he helped create a republic in which most people don't have to worry much about politics, and can take freedom for granted, and don't worship the authorities. It certainly gives pause, to those of us who write and think about politics, to visit the final resting place of one of our greatest political writers and thinkers — and to be there all alone.

— Roger Clegg is general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity in Sterling, Virginia.

“James Madison's ego was in indirect proportion to his accomplishments, just like Thomas Jefferson's. Hence, almost nothing for Madison, and much more for ol' TJ. (He was a member of a committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence, not its sole author; never served in the militia; was a failure as a businessman; was an admitted failure as a governor; was arguably a failure as a president; and he didn't participate in the writing of the Constitution. He had a curious mind, and was probably more important for his scientific and exploration activities than his other accomplishments. Jefferson outlived his political opponents, which was his biggest accomplishment.”

Support of Madison should not come at the Expense of Jefferson

The subject of this discussion is centered on Mr. Madison and as much as I wish to keep it that way, I want to respond to this particular post.

With all due respect, I appreciate the comments in regards to James Madison. Without a doubt he deserves many more honors than has been allotted to him by the American people. Nevertheless this post seems to be putting the blame (subtly) for the overshadowing of Madison onto Thomas Jefferson.

With a screen name like Henry Lee II, I get the impression that the gentleman has found inspiration from the pen of “Lighthorse Harry” of Prince William County. If that is the case sir, the criticism of Mr. Jefferson being a bad businessman would seem a bit curious considering that Mr. Lee ruined the name and fortune of the Leesylvania Lees because of his own bad business practices. You sir and I are both Virginians. We know from our Commonwealth’s history that in the 18th century many of the leading planting families were heavily in debt to British creditors. The tobacco crops often failed, and Virginians were denied (rightly or wrongly I’ll let the economists debate that) by the British ministers the use of paper currency. This was one of the leading factors in Virginia’s push for independence during the 1760’s and early 1770’s. Land speculation and building projects also ruined many a good name. Virginia’s economy was based on planting and slave labor and was never profitable (again I’ll let the economists debate that). In many cases, the leading Virginia families remind one of the people today who max out the credit cards buying too many Mercedes’ to “keep up with the Joneses”.

Mr. Jefferson, to his credit, after the War of Independence refused to support the push in the state legislature to repudiate the pre war debts to private British creditors. He was heavily saddled with his own, and his father in law’s debts. He believed in paying them in principle even though it ruined him financially. Obviously his well-known spending habits did not help the matter.

As for the attack on Jefferson’s governorship, he was obviously a poor war- time governor. Without a doubt he cut a terrible martial figure. However, the charges of cowardice raised in Mr. Lee’s memoirs were the result of an extreme hatred of Mr. Jefferson by the Federalists, particular the Federalist minority in Virginia. And to be fair, I’m sure Jefferson’s newspapermen in Virginia were quite guilty of denigrating Mr. Lee as well. The charge of him not serving in the militia is suspiciously Federalist as well. I would counter that the Federalists, particularly the members of the Society of the Cincinnati, never could quite understand the importance of the subordination of the military to the civilian government. While most Federalists were not truly “monarchists”, their love of military glory was frighteningly similar to the Brit Tories in parliament, with hereditary titles, paid commissions and seats in Parliament. Believe what you may, but the criticism of being a poor solider would apply to Madison as well (if not more so).

Mr. Jefferson was not the sole author of the Declaration of Independence, but he was the primary author of it. (You can easily find a copy of his original draft). At least 90% of the finished work is Jefferson’s words, and certainly showcases his Whig principles and talent for phrasing. My goodness, so Ben Franklin changed a couple of words and John Adams didn’t like the word “unalienable”. That is the reason to knock Jefferson? That is just silly. If you don’t agree with the Declaration of Independence like most anglophile Federalists then just say so. Sounds like the people who say Shakespeare didn’t really write any of his plays.

Presidency – I’ll be brief, 1st term great, or at least good, 2nd term poor. He democratized the office of president and made the office more open to the people. He at least refused a 3rd term, which would surely have been his. Obviously his embargoes were bad ideas. Madison inherited his foreign relations problems and did no better if not worse. Problem there again is remember who Jefferson’s Secretary of State was – James Madison.

Jefferson didn’t participate in writing of the Constitution because he was serving our country as minister to France. Who do you think Madison wrote to for advice? Who do you think sent him many of those books (only available in Europe) to Madison on historic constitutions? Who do you think gently criticized his friend Madison (who was a complete nationalist at this time) to include a Bill of Rights?

Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments are listed on his tombstone. They are there for a reason: Freedom for his Country (Dec. of Ind), Freedom of the soul and mind (the underrated Va. Bill of Religious Freedom), and unlike Jimmy Carter actually accomplished something real in retirement, the founding of the University of Virginia.

Madison was a shy man, even shyer than Jefferson. He was a brilliant man who subordinated himself to another brilliant man. Jefferson like him or not had charisma and was the unquestioned head of his party. Without Jefferson in the wings, Madison could never have been elected president. After Jefferson’s death the party inevitably split into the true Democrats (under Jackson) and the Whigs (a coalition of conservative Jeffersonians and remaining Federalists). Madison was a wonderful person, but he and James Monroe only held control of the original Democratic-Republicans (actually they were really called Republicans) because of Jefferson’s prestige.

Jefferson and Madison were not only close political allies; they were the best of friends. For examples of both consult the 3 volume (Republic of Letters). Look closely at Jefferson’s last letter to Madison; if you have never read it before, it will hopefully move you. Madison was asked by his dying friend to “take care of me when I am gone”. Madison did just that. In his remaining ten years of life he fought to defend the name and reputation of his dead friend. If you want to see the legacy of James Madison, and perhaps what he would want you to remember him for, it might very well be in all the monuments to his friend.

James Madison was a great American. That he is rarely remembered is a travesty. But to blame that on Jefferson is not right. Jefferson was a great American hero. All of the great men whether Federalist or Republican who framed this country should be honored. We conservatives of today come from both of those factions the federal conservatives and classical liberals respectively. Today’s LEFT is a weed sprung from foreign socialism. They hate Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Washington and anyone they snidely call a “dead white male”.

Sorry for the length FRiends,

Submitted respectfully,

YH

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