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Posted on 03/02/2003 8:56:24 AM PST by stoney
Throughout American history, historians have accredited James Madison with many subtitles. Some are accurate, some not. He is commonly referred to as the Father of the Constitution. However, his record at the Constitutional Convention makes that point arguable at best. Atheists commonly cite Madison as being in favor of total removal of religious belief and guidance in government. That this fact is disputable is a gross understatement. However, that James Madison was the leading American constitutionalist among the founding fathers is beyond dispute.
As with the study of any political thinker, the task of fully grasping Madison’s ideas must come only after considering the political concerns of which he acted, the discursive and rhetorical conventions in which he had to phrase and the sources from which they came. The context in which Madison developed his analysis of the problems federalism within a republican government faced in its formation must all be taken into account.
Early Life
On March 16, 1751, James Madison was born to James Madison, Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison at Port Conway, Virginia. His great-great-grandfather, who had been a ship carpenter, had emigrated from England in 1653. He settled in the Virginia tidelands, where he became a tobacco farmer. Later generations of Madison’s moved slowly west as the country began to open up to settlement. James Madison’s father and grandfather would eventually settle in what is now Orange County, Virginia where they would assimilate ...
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I just had a test on American History yesterday which dealt with the Revolution up to and including the ratification of the Constitution. Right now, we are going over the Jeffersonians(Madison) v. Hamiltons
From what I can see so far, Madison was a strict constructionist of the Constitution. He would turn over in his grave if he could see how big/overreaching our federal system is today.
The First Federal Revenue Law
On April 8, James Madison, once again a congressman from Virginia, addressed the House. He went right to the point. Congress, he said, must "remedy the evil" of "the deficiency in our Treasury." He argued that "[a] national revenue must be obtained," but not in a way "oppressive to our constituents." He then proposed that the House adopt legislation, virtually identical to the unimplemented Confederation tariff, imposing a five-percent tariff on all imports, with higher rates on 13 selected items. The full House, sitting as a Committee of the Whole, then began debating Madison's proposal...
Congressman John Laurence of New York supported Madison's proposal, arguing that "the more simple a plan of revenue is, the easier it becomes understood and executed."/84/ Madison elaborated. A single, uniform tariff, he insisted, had two advantages. First, it could be imposed quickly, which was important because "the prospect of our harvest from the Spring importations is daily vanishing." Second, it was consistent with the principles of free trade ("commercial shackles," he said, "are generally unjust, oppressive, and impolitic").
He traveled 80 miles on horseback while ill, arriving just in time to cast his decisive vote for independence on July 2, 1776.
With today's filibuster of Miguel Estrada, and excuses of snow and the impracticality of security and having to go to the bathroom being floated as reasons for not going 24/7, a little reminder of what our patriot founders did for something they believed in is in order.
-PJ
I doubt ANYBODY in our upper bodies of government would risk ANYTHING for the betterment of their country today. Most are in it for the money and the power, not to uphold our Constitution.
No,dear, you are going over the Republicans *("Jeffersonians") and the Federalists ("Hamiltonians")
(*Don't confuse this with today meaning of the word. Back at the turn of the 18th century a Republican would be what we would call a liberal/Democrat today.)
:)
If you find that you're interested in this era, I just finished reading the biography John Adams by David McCollough and highly recommend it. Towards the end, you get a very good feel for the emergence of party politics between the Federalists (Adams/Hamilton) and the Democrat-Republicans (Jefferson). Also, you read about the party split between Adams and Hamilton, and the partisan press that took sides and wrote scurrilous articles against Adams, then the President (sound like today?).
-PJ
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