James Madison was born 264 years ago this past week on March 16, 1751. He was from Virginia, one of the Founding Fathers, and is known as the father of the U.S. Constitution.
During and after the Revolutionary War (1775-1781), the weakness of the federal government was apparent to all. Madison spent years studying the history of previous republics and nations, and he concluded that the U.S. needed a stronger federal government and a new constitution. Madison and other leaders called for a constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia in May 1787.
Madison wrote a draft of his vision for a new constitution, and delegates to the Convention agreed to adopt Madison’s blueprint as a starting point. His plan was discussed, debated, and revised throughout the spring and summer, and on September 17, 1787, the new Constitution was signed by 39 delegates representing eleven of the thirteen states.
The Constitution would next have to be approved by the Confederation Congress, then meeting in New York, and then go to the states for ratification. The Congress could have blocked the new Constitution, but voted unanimously to pass it on to the states for action without recommendation, for or against. Each state was to hold a ratification convention, and at least nine of the thirteen would have to ratify the Constitution for it to go into effect. No one expected ratification to be easy or certain.
Those in favor of the Constitution were called Federalists, and those in opposition were known as Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalist group was large and very loud in its opposition, and they would fight to prevent granting more authority to a federal government, as they wanted the individual states to retain the most of the power.
In New York, Anti-Federalist letters begin appearing in the press arguing against ratification. Alexander Hamilton, one of the Philadelphia delegates, decided to respond to the Anti-Federalist letters by writing a series of essays in support of the Constitution. These essays would begin in October 1787, continue through August 1788, and be widely disseminated to newspapers throughout the states. There would eventually be 85 essays, and they would become known as the Federalist Papers.
Hamilton originally enlisted John Jay to help him with the essays. When Jay became ill, Hamilton asked Madison to help. Madison, in New York serving in the Confederation Congress, gladly agreed. Hamilton would write the majority of the essays, but Madison would make significant contributions and write about a third of them.
Scholars do not agree on how influential the essays were in regards to the ratification vote in New York and other states, but most are in agreement on the value of the Federal Papers for their breadth and depth in explaining the Constitution.
By December 1787, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia had ratified, and Connecticut did so in early January 1788. All five states had voted for ratification by wide margins.
Massachusetts was the next to hold its ratification convention in February. As the second most populous state in the Union, and given its influence in New England, passage there was crucial. Initially, there were not enough votes to ratify. The Anti-Federalists fought hard to defeat ratification, and the debate at the convention was bitter and acrimonious. The final vote was close, but it did pass. Some historians believe the lingering anxiety over Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts the previous fall was responsible for several delegates voting to ratify, and may have made the difference.
By the end of May, Maryland and South Carolina had also ratified by wide margins, they were the seventh and eighth states to do so. One more state was all that was needed for the U.S. to adopt the new Constitution. However, the remaining five states had the strongest Anti-Federalist groups. Virginia, New Hampshire, and New York were scheduled to meet in June.
The ratification vote in Virginia and New Hampshire were both projected too close to call, and New York was leaning strongly against. Virginia was the most populous and powerful state, and Madison feared if it voted not to ratify, others might follow suit. Without Virginia and New York ratifying, it was difficult for Madison to imagine what it would mean for the Constitution and the Union.
Virginia’s ratification convention began on June 2, 1788, and meet for three weeks. Madison and the Federalists would make the case for ratification. The Anti-Federalists were led by Governor Patrick Henry, the second most influential person in the state next to George Washington, and they would try everything in their power to block ratification.
One of the Anti-Federalist’s primary tactics was to insist upon amendments to include a bill of rights in the Constitution – before ratification. With eight states having ratified without amendments, Madison knew that if Virginia insisted on another convention to get the amendments included before ratification, the other states would most likely refuse to participate. Madison believed that if Virginia didn’t ratify then, without amendments, all of his work might be for naught, and worse, lead to possible disunion.
Throughout Virginia’s ratification convention, Henry, renowned as the greatest orator in the country, was impressive. Henry was such a remarkable speaker, it was said that he could make the hair on the back of men’s necks stand up – even when they disagreed with him.
Madison had a weak, high-pitched speaking voice. Outmatched oratorically, he took his customary dispassionate and reasoned approach. Where Henry thundered, Madison parried and explained.
It was during these debates that Madison demonstrated the power of knowledge. Because he had spent the past several years studying the history of other republics, he knew what worked in national governments, and just as important, what didn’t work. As a result of having written the first and subsequent drafts of the Constitution, he understood it inside and out. Due to helping Hamilton write the Federalist Papers, he knew both sides of every argument.
In the end, on June 25, 1788, the Virginia delegates voted 89 to 79 for ratification, without amendments. Madison had carried the day. Both supporters and opponents lauded his work, intellect, and performance.
The Virginians thought they were the ninth state to ratify and thus establish the Constitution. Due to slow communications of the day, they didn’t know that New Hampshire had voted to do so four days earlier. New York had just started its ratifying convention, and news of Virginia’s passage turned the tide there. A few weeks later, New York’s delegates voted 30-27 to ratify.
On September 13, 1788, the Confederation Congress certified that over two-thirds of the states, eleven of thirteen, had ratified the Constitution. It ordered on the states to hold elections, and for the federal government to begin operation on March 4 of the next year. Within two years, the remaining two states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, would also vote to ratify and join the Union.
It had been an extraordinary time for Madison. Starting with the proposal of the Philadelphia Convention, then drafting and guiding the writing of the Constitution at the Convention, to shepherding it through ratification in Virginia, Madison was the indispensable man. Without him, there is a strong likelihood there would have been no Constitution and dire consequences for the country.
When the new federal government was formed in March 1789, Madison became a member of the first Congress, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he would become a leader and its most influential member. In this position, he played a critical role in helping establish the new federal government under the guidelines of the new Constitution. Later that year, he would also be the primary author of the Bill of Rights – the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
In addition to several terms in the House of Representatives, Madison would go on to serve eight years as Secretary of State, and two terms as president in his distinguished career. But it was his vital contributions to the writing and adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that immortalizes Madison in the annals of history. Just as he studied ancient Greek and Roman governments, future leaders will contemplate and apply the works of Madison for thousands of years to come.
Among the Founding Fathers, many of them brilliant, several historians believe Madison had the best mind. His vast intellect, studious disposition, and scholarly approach made him the ideal person to guide our fledgling country to the Constitution – the bedrock of our Republic and liberty.