James Madison, “the father of the Constitution,” was one of the most important figures of the revolutionary period and was a crucial player in the drafting and adoption of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. His impact on constitutional law is unsurpassed and his writings are among the most important sources for understanding the meaning of the Constitution to this day. Furthermore, he is arguably the most important political philosopher produced by our country.
Madison asserted that a republic – in which the people’s wishes are refined and enlightened by the collective wisdom and consultation of their representatives – is the most advanced form of governance. Therefore, without faith in the good in man, a republic is impossible. He contended, nevertheless, that the Constitution improved on the republican concept by not placing too much trust in man and therefore providing what he called the “auxiliary precautions” of the separation of powers and intricate checks and balances. These precautions, he argued, recognize and make good use of human nature by channeling the ambition of officeholders in each branch of government to check the encroaching power of the other branches. In other words, ambition would be used to control ambition.
Madison challenged the belief held by many that only a small republic could be successful. Under the orthodoxy of the day, for democracy to work, the people must have close influence on government and be united by their general views and interests - features only achievable within a small nation. Accordingly, many opposed to the adoption of the new Constitution argued it would be best to divide America in three or four smaller republics to achieve unity of interest, geography and thought. Madison contended the opposite. He responded that the very problem with the ill-fated ancient republics was they were too small and thus too easily dominated by a majority united by self-interest and inclined to oppress minorities and eventually destroy democracy. Madison stated that the United States had found the solution to the problem by making it difficult, if not impossible, for an oppressive majority to be forged due the country’s extensive size and complexity of interests and factions.
Madison believed that if an ill-motivated legislative majority were formed, it would be subject to the hindrance of a two-house Congress, and in a large republic, would have difficulty preserving its unity to the extent that its more extreme proposals would not suffer the moderating influence of compromise required because of the wide diversity of interests composing the majority. Accordingly, Madison believed that the Constitution magnified the benefits of a large republic through its structural tendency to prevent, control, moderate and break dangerous majorities.
Madison believed that the proposed governmental framework was the best protection for individual liberties. Therefore, during the campaign to win ratification of the Constitution, he originally opposed the inclusion of a declaration of specified rights as unnecessary and perilous to the rights not listed. Yet he and other Federalist leaders compromised, and as a leading member of the first Congress, Madison crafted and introduced the Bill of Rights.
Finally, in the Federalist Papers, Madison predicted the reverence the Constitution would gain over time and the resulting benefits of national unity, stability and adherence to the rule of law.
Russell Fowler is the associate director of Legal Aid of East Tennessee Southern Region and an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he teaches judicial process, constitutional law and civil liberties. Fowler has over 40 publications on law and legal history, and wrote the chapter on Calvin Coolidge in the book “American’s Lawyer-Presidents,” published by the American Bar Association. He is a member of the Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations.