Essay on James Madison

In May 1787, fifty-five educated and propertied delegates from every state except Rhode Island attended the Philadelphia Convention. Important leaders were absent, so young nationalist were able to set the program for this event. Declaring that the convention would “decide for ever the fate of Republican Government,” James Madison insisted on increased national authority. Alexander Hamilton of New York likewise demanded a strong central government to

Madison’s path towards the creation of a new constitution began with the Philadelphia Convention where he presented the Virginia Plan. This plan promised that it would supersede the ineffective Articles that were currently in place, and a new more effective constitution would pick up its role. According to the original Virginia Plan drafted by Madison, some of his ideas included, “Resolved that each branch ought to possess the right of originating acts. Resolved that it is the opinion of this Committee that a national government ought to be

On July 3rd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously declared the independence of the thirteen United States of America from Great Britain. Determined to unify the thirteen colonies, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. Although the articles did not prevent the United States from winning independence, the innate flaws of the articles became apparent in the years following the revolution. The problems of the weak, purely legislative national government became too prevalent for agents of the revolution, such as James Madison and George Washington. Madison and Washington were strong supporters of a federal, or national, constitution, and on June 21, 1788, congress ratified the Constitution of the United States. And in doing so, violated the “Revolutionary Ideology” and the will of the American people.

James Madison, also known as “The Father on the Constitution”, contributed to quite a few intellectual events in the United States. Madison was an intelligent man with bright ideas that helped this country become the one it is today. With all his appearances to debates, committee meetings, and being elected in conventions, he was able to present us the federal government we have today and some of our basic rights. James Madison’s life and times, before, during, and after presidency is now becoming more well known and interpreted.

Thirteen months later, Ben served on the committee that drafted the declaration of independence. He contributed to the Government by serving as a postmaster general, and took over the duties as a president of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. James Madison was known as the Father of the United States Constitution, no other delegate was prepared for the Federal Convention in 1787 like he was. Alexander Hamilton served in the legislature in 1787, which got him chosen as one of the delegates to the Convention. He was at a disadvantage against the other delegates because of how small of a role he played in the debates. He did however end up as one of the three delegates from New York that signed the finished document. George Washington always had concerns for the country’s future, so he was never a fan of the convention because of humanity’s common failings, and he realized that many citizens suspected the convention would be merely a seizure of power from the states by an all powerful central government and he didn’t want to attend because he didn’t want to appear as the power grasping type of person.The U.S. Constitution called "a living document." Though it may seem like a dry piece of paper to you, it really is designed to live and grow as the nation

I was very interested in finding the history of James Madison. The reason Why I choose James Madison Because I went to visited his college when I was in high school but I got married and move to the tidewater a rea and decide to go to Saintleo.So if you would be a little patient with me you will learn a lot about James Madison. So we are going to look at where he was born and some history about his achievement and some history about his family. I hope you are ready to take a ride with me through the history on James Madison.

The largest dispute between these two plans was over the differing population sizes. The Virginia Plan called for representation to be determined by the population of a state. This meant the larger the population, the more representatives it would have. This satisfied the bigger states but left smaller states like New Jersey with less representation. Alternately, the New Jersey Plan pushed for each state to have equal representation. The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral legislative branch while the New Jersey Plan wanted a unicameral legislative. With a bicameral legislative each state's amount of votes would be based on their population. With a unicameral legislative each state would be entitled to only one vote. These quarrels eventually led to the two plans being examined, and certain ideas merged to fulfill the needs of both

James Madison begins his famous federalist paper by explaining that the purpose of this essay is to help the readers understand how the structure of the proposed government makes liberty possible. Each branch should be, for the most part, in Madison's opinion, independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But, the framers recognized certain practical difficulties in making every office elective. In particular, the judicial branch would suffer because the average person is not aware of the qualifications judges should

Slavery was a problem that faced all Americans in the years prior to the American Civil War. Many Americans wanted to bring about an end to it but were unable to come up with a workable plan. One person to try and find an answer to the problem was himself a slave owner; he was James Madison. The institution of slavery deeply concerned James Madison, even at the start of his political career. During his career, Madison held many important political offices; he used these offices to try to bring to an end this "evil" in his society. Some criticized him for not using his power to fuller advantage, but Madison had a plan for achieving his objective.

In the wake of the economic aftermath following the French-Indian War, British leaders sought to use their colonies as a means of resolving their plight. As such, they tightened their reign and Anglo-American tensions escalated as they began to pass the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Act to raise money rather than control trade. Further aggravating colonists were Britain’s land policy and the arrival of British troops. As a result, resistance within the colonies was on the rise, and the First Continental Congress organized colonial resistance to Parliament’s Coercive Acts when they met in Philadelphia in late 1774. After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a resolution to the Second Continental

In the book “A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution” by Carol Berkin she explains the constitution from start to finish from how it all began, to the debates inside the convention and finally the end product. Berkin takes the reader and puts him directly in the middle of the convention of 1786; throughout the book you can feel the excitement, the frustration, the tensions between delegates and the overall commitment to making a new government work for all.

The constitutional convention and the constitution was the start to revolutionizing the way our country would run. In this historic moment there were 55 delegates that put their mark and opinions into the creation of the Constitution of the United States. Although all 55 delegates had a part in the creation some had more of an influence in creating the main frame work of the constitution. One of the most prominent men in the creation was James Wilson, a strong advocate of democracy. Other than James Madison, Wilson’s ideas were greatly acknowledged by the other delegates. He was a strong supporter for the independence of the colonies from British rule and was one of the delegates who did not want to just amend the Articles of Confederation, but make a whole new constitution focusing on other greater principles.

Alexander Hamilton was the next important speaker at the convention. Hamilton disagreed with Madison and came up with a plan of

Federalist’s views on economy were based off internal and foreign connections. Internally, Hamilton’s economic plan included three main parts- paying off all war debts, raising government taxes, and creating a national bank. This plan would result in the nation’s debt, which was a result of the Revolution, being paid in full by the wealthier states paying states debts for the poorer states. This was not accepted because the richer southern states disagreed to pay for the poorer northern states. Another plan by Hamilton was to tax farmer who made alcohol, resulting in funds to pay off the nations debt. Most of these farming citizens where part of the opposing Republican Party who strongly disagreed with the new tax causing the Whiskey Rebellion. Internationally, Hamilton wanted a strong economic relationship with Great Britain. He developed the Jay Treaty that insured a diplomatic agreement from peaceful trading with Britain. The Jay Treaty included decisions of debt payments, country boundaries, and Britain occupation of forts in newly independent America. Hamilton believed in a strong central economy that was aided by foreign affairs and national strength.

To solve the emerging challenges, the American States legislatures brought up delegates to the Philadelphia Convention to sign a new form of government into power. The delegates include politicians, ordinary citizens and lawyers. The American States hoped that the convention would the constitution would be efficient to end the disaster – characterised by economic and security issues. Therefore, the condition and the measures put in place led to the development of the phrase “Inventing the American Constitution” aimed at discovery the motives behind the building of the United States Constitution, and the faults that existed within the Articles of Confederation.