From The Federalist No. 10. The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued). Daily Advertiser. Thursday, November 22, 1787. James Madison.
It is in vain to say that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clashing interests, and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. Nor, in many cases, can such an adjustment be made at all without taking into view indirect and remote considerations, which will rarely prevail over the immediate interest which one party may find in disregarding the rights of another or the good of the whole.
The inference to which we are brought is, that the causes of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects.
Yikes! Get ready for one heck of a political ride for the next four years!
Now let’s take a peek back into the memory bank to remember James Madison.
“James Madison. ‘Father of the Constitution.’”
Image courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/amer_pres/jamesmadison.html.
From President James Madison at Geocities.
As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-83), he was considered a legislative workhorse and a master of parliamentary detail. Back in the state legislature he welcomed peace, but soon became alarmed at the fragility of the Confederation. He was a strong advocate of a new constitution and played a leading role in drafting and negotiating the main points at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. To aid the push for quick ratification, he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write The Federalist Papers. They have become the single most important interpretation of the Constitution among jurists and scholars. Madison wrote the single most quoted paper, #10, in which he explained how a large country with many different interests and factions could support republicanism better than a small country where a few special interests could dominate. His interpretation has become a central part of the pluralist interpretation of American politics.
Back in Virginia in 1788, he led the fight for ratification of the Constitution at the state’s convention-oratorically dueling Patrick Henry and others who sought revisions to the constitution (such as a bill of rights) before its ratification. Madison is often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution” for his role in its drafting and ratification. However, Madison protested this designation as being “a credit to which I have no claim…the Constitution was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands.“
When the Constitution was ratified, Madison was elected to the United States House of Representatives from his home state of Virginia and served from the First Congress through the Fourth Congress.
His most famous contribution was writing the Bill of Rights, which had been promised to the opponents of ratification. On June 8, 1789, he offered a package of twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. The final ten of these rights became what is collectively known as the Bill of Rights by December 15, 1791. The chief characteristic of Madison’s time in Congress was his desire to limit the power of the federal government.
See:
1 response so far ↓
Democratic America, Goverment and Election » Historical Quote Of The Day // November 17, 2008 at 8:46 am
[...] Read the rest of this superb post right here [...]