James Madison was born 264 years ago tomorrow on March 16, 1751. He served as our 4th President from 1809-1817, and is known as the father of the U.S. Constitution. Madison was small in stature at a height of only five feet, four inches, and weighed less than 100 pounds.
Too small to fight in the Revolutionary War (1775-1781), Madison served in the Virginia state legislature from 1776–1779, and the Continental Congress from 1780-1783. He became known for his hard work and ability to forge political coalitions.
After the war, Madison was elected again to the Virginia state legislature, and served from 1784-1786. It was during this period that he began to think deeply about the structure and purposes of government. The prior few years, Madison had been studying the history of previous republics and confederations. He concluded that nations failed because their central governments didn’t have sufficient authority, and that the U.S. needed a stronger federal government.
During and after the war, the weakness of the federal government was apparent to all. It had no way to enforce the collection of taxes from the states. The states were supposed to collect taxes and pay their fair share in support of the Union, but most did not. Consequently, the federal government routinely didn’t pay the army during the war, and couldn’t pay its debts after the war.
Madison was also concerned with excessive democracy. His apprehension with excessive democracy was the potential tyranny of majorities unfairly exerting their will on minorities (the potential for mob rule). Madison came to believe that the U.S. needed a republican form of government rather than a democracy.
He also thought a new constitution was needed. The Articles of Confederation, written in 1776-1777, was the de facto constitution during the war until it was ratified until 1781, and remained in effect after the war – Madison thought it was too flawed to be fixed.
Subsequently, Madison and other leaders called for a national convention to address these issues. It was entitled, The Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government, and would be held in Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786. However, only twelve delegates from five states attended. Nonetheless, the delegates sent a report to Congress and the states, asking for all of the states to attend a constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia the next spring.
There was no guarantee that the states would participate in the Philadelphia Convention. At that time, there were many people opposed to stronger federal government (called anti-federalists). However, events unfolded in late 1786 and early 1787 that would provide an impetus for the states’ participation – it was a time of civil disturbances and rebellions.
Most of the unrest was minor and easily put down. However, Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts proved difficult to quell and went on from August 1786, until February 1787. It was led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, who assembled a group of disgruntled citizens and poor farmers frustrated by bankruptcies and land seizures.
Shays’ rebels shut down some county courts, largely in the western part of the state, by preventing them from sitting. In some cases local militia were able to restore order, but in other areas the militia would not form out of sympathy to the rebels’ cause. Neither Congress, nor Massachusetts could provide funds for the state’s defense; money had to be raised from merchants to pay for an army to put down the rebellion.
This anarchy created great consternation among the middle class, the wealthy, merchants and the political class. The anxiety caused by the unrest would have lingering effects.
Historians are divided on the effect Shays’ rebellion had on the upcoming Philadelphia Convention, but soon national leaders, including George Washington, were calling for a stronger national government. Even leaders in Massachusetts, who prior to Shays’ rebellion were largely anti-federal, joined the call for a stronger federal government.
After the Annapolis Convention, Madison prepared himself for the Philadelphia Convention, and was the first to arrive in May 1787. He had written a draft of his vision for a new constitution – he called it the Virginia Plan. A few days later the rest of the Virginia delegation arrived, as did most of the Pennsylvania delegates. Together, the two delegations reviewed Madison’s blueprint and decided to support it. By the time the Convention began, it was agreed to adopt Madison’s plan as a starting point.
Madison’s plan was a new constitution, and to discard the Articles of Confederation. There were several delegates who only wanted to amend the Articles, however, after initial discussions it was agreed that a new constitution would be best. The delegates also agreed with Madison that a new constitution should give the federal government added powers over the states.
Madison’s Plan was discussed and debated the rest of the spring and most of the summer of 1787. Many parts of it were revised, added and eliminated. By early September much of the framework for the new constitution had been agreed upon. There would be three branches of government – legislative, executive, and judicial. It was constructed to ensure separation of powers, with checks and balances. No single branch of government would be able to control the other two.
There would be a bicameral Congress, with the House of Representatives having terms of two years, and the Senate six years with staggered terms. While the Congress and the president would be elected, the federal judiciary would be selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Many delegates wanted a bill of rights included in the constitution, but Madison was able to persuade most of them that it could be added after the states had ratified the new constitution. Madison didn’t think a bill of rights was necessary, and he was concerned that such a bill could later be interpreted that the rights enumerated were the only rights guaranteed to the people.
While none of the delegates agreed with all parts of the new constitution, most came to the conclusion it was the best that could be done, and far better than the existing constitution (the Articles of Confederation). In the spirit of compromise the new Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 by 39 of the 42 delegates in attendance. The other three delegates did not support the final version and declined to sign.
The 39 delegates who had signed represented eleven of the thirteen states. Of the two states not represented, Rhode Island and New York, the former had not sent delegates to Philadelphia. The latter sent three delegates, but two had left the Convention early in protest, as the Governor of New York opposed a new Constitution.
The new Constitution would first have to be approved by the Confederation Congress, and then go to the thirteen states for ratification. At least nine states would have to ratify the Constitution to adopt it, replace the Articles, and form a stronger federal government.
No one expected ratification to be easy or certain. Many delegates were very concerned that some states might not ratify and influence other states to do the same.
There was also substantial concern that several states might demand changes to the Constitution before ratification. Madison and the other Philadelphia delegates, aware of how difficult drafting the Constitution had been, knew that the chances of any revisions being accepted would be very slim. The onus would be on them to get it ratified without changes.
Madison’s hard work, superior intelligence, and coalition building had prevailed in writing the Constitution – a very tall order by any measure. It would take all of his extraordinary abilities to ensure ratification. The fight for the new Constitution was just beginning.
Next Blog: Ratifying the Constitution