James Madison 
-
4/21/19
Slavery and the Electoral College: One Last Response to Sean Wilentz
by Alan Singer
As historians and public figures, we have an obligation to defend democratic institutions and expose vestigial anti-democratic elements like the Electoral College that threaten democracy, which includes a careful examination of their origin and history.
-
4/14/19
The Electoral College and the Myth of a Proslavery Ploy
by Sean Wilentz
A Reply to Akhil Reed Amar.
-
SOURCE: CNN
3/20/19
Electoral College is a hot topic again: Calling James Madison
The Electoral College has been "targeted for reform or abolition some 700 times" over the course of our republic-- more than any other part of the Constitution.
-
SOURCE: The Guardian
1/31/19
Voter suppression carries slavery's three-fifths clause into the present
by Imani Perry
The Georgia governor’s election was the latest example of how James Madison’s words continue to shape our views on race.
-
SOURCE: The Atlantic
9-16-18 (accessed)
America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare
by Jeffrey Rosen
The Founders designed a government that would resist mob rule. They didn’t anticipate how strong the mob could become.
-
SOURCE: Harvard Gazette
7-19-18
Are there holes in the Constitution?
by Michael Klarman
A Congress controlled by Republican majorities has done almost nothing to check the president’s transgressive behavior. That's a problem that suggests the Constitution's not working as intended.
-
SOURCE: Bloomberg
3-5-18
James Madison Would Like a Few Words on Trade Wars
by Noah Feldman
The fourth president tried all kinds of sanctions to open markets, but still ended up in the War of 1812.
-
SOURCE: CBS News
10-29-17
James Madison's Montpelier explores its history of slaves
Montpelier was the Virginia home of James Madison, father of the Constitution and architect of the Bill of Rights. The plantation was also home to generations of slaves. Now, descendants have a chance to get in touch with their roots.
-
SOURCE: PBS
8-9-17
Descendant of slaves rewrites the history of James Madison
“We assume that president Madison and his family would not have achieved what they did if it were not for the enslaved individuals who lived there. The average American doesn’t understand that.” – Leontyne Peck
-
SOURCE: The Washington Post
6-20-17
At James Madison’s home, slaves’ lives matter as much as the man who owned them
With the help of a $10 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein, the Montpelier staff has devoted new attention and resources to tell their story.
-
4-23-17
Trump Vs. Madison. Madison’s Winning.
by Donald J. Fraser
The parchment barriers Madison and the other Founding Fathers installed in the Constitution are helping check Trump’s overreaching.
-
2-15-15
Why It’s Time for a New Wave of Constitutional Amendments
by David O. Stewart
Four waves of amendments have wrought critical changes in the Constitution. The new Congress should commence a fifth.
-
SOURCE: AP
11-1-14
He helped write the Bill of Rights. Now his slave quarters will be renovated.
The repairs will be paid for by a donation of $10,000,000 to the home of James Madison.
-
5-18-14
James Madison’s the Founding Father We Quote on the Constitution, but Which Madison Should We Cite?
by Ray Raphael
Was Madison the (chief) architect of the Constitution?
-
SOURCE: NYT
5-1-14
Gordon Wood praises Lynne Cheney's biography of James Madison in the NYT
by Gordon Wood
Cheney tells the story well, though skimps on analysis.
-
SOURCE: ArtDaily
8-3-13
New evidence contributes to unprecedented portrait of enslaved life at James Madison's Montpelier
ORANGE, VA.- The Montpelier Foundation today announced findings from new archaeological excavations at the lifelong home of James Madison – Father of the Constitution, Architect of the Bill of Rights, and Fourth President of the United States. Discovered by teams of professional archaeology staff, students and visitors participating in special “Archaeology Expeditions,” two newly revealed subfloor pits provide an initial footprint for field slave quarters on the Montpelier landscape.“Montpelier is unique among archaeological sites in the United States with regards to our ability to recreate and visualize the experience of enslaved life,” said Matthew Reeves, Ph.D., Director of Archaeology and Landscape Restoration at James Madison’s Montpelier. “Because the fields have lain fallow since Madison’s time, the sites we are discovering are virtually undisturbed. We are meticulously documenting available evidence from the sites so we can begin to reconstruct the farm in a way that will authentically represent the complexity of life on the plantation.”...
-
Compromise as the Constitution’s Foundation
by David Brian Robertson
U.S. Capitol rotunda. Credit: Matt Wade Photography.Practical politicians – like the very human politicians portrayed in the movie Lincoln – wrote the U.S. Constitution. Deep mistrust and bitter disagreements divided these politicians, as they did in the Civil War era and as they do now, in the fight over sequestration and the budget deficit. They negotiated their way through these differences; compromise produced the Constitution, as it later produced the Thirteenth Amendment and the other landmark measures of American government. Their own compromises left us a government that cannot work without compromise.
-
Senator Cruz, You're No James Madison
by John Willingham
Ted Cruz speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC. Credit: Gage Skidmore.More than twenty years ago, by way of linking his work to the ideas of James Madison, Ted Cruz titled his senior thesis at Princeton “Clipping the Wings of Angels,” derived from a famous quote in Madison’s Federalist No. 51: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
News
- Brexit will ultimately destabilise Europe, historians fear
- The Justinianic Plague's Devastating Impact Was Likely Exaggerated
- 'Human, vulnerable and perfect': New Rosa Parks exhibit shines light on civil rights legend
- How Charlottesville’s Echoes Forced New Zealand to Confront Its History
- Mary Thompson Featured in Article on George Washington's Dog Breeding
- China Releases History Professor, But Travel Concerns Persist
- Gordon Wood Interviewed on the New York Times’ 1619 Project
- Books by Garret Martin, Balazs Martonffy, Ronald Suny, and Kelly McFarland Featured in Article on NATO at 50
- The secret history of women in America, told through their belongings
- Irish Archive Recreates Documents Lost in in 1922 fire