As a student of American History, specifically of the Revolutionary Period and the periods immediately preceding, during, and following the Constitutional Convention in 1787 (after all, I am "Mr. Constitution"), I have always wondered why Constitution Day is not a national holiday, and why James Madison has never received a monument or memorial in Washington DC. It just seems to make no sense that the fourth President of the United States, the man known as the Father of the Constitution, and the man who was in the White House when the War of 1812 was being fought (which included the only instance in history the White House has been under direct attack, during which it was burned by British troops) is not honored beyond a few mentions in history books, and (finally) the restoration of his home at Montpelier.
Madison was a quiet Founding Father, who did much, but refused to call attention to himself. While the other founders were scrambling to establish their legacy, Madison quietly studied and participated in the formation of our nation, as well as being involved in the evolution of Virginia's early State governmental system, and the formation of Liberia (Like Jefferson, Madison was an abolitionist, but never has received notoriety for being so because he never freed his slaves. . . a decision he defended by saying they would be safer under his care). Madison's Virginia Plan was a key component in creating our bicameral Congress, and his essays in the Federalist Papers were an important ingredient leading to the ratification of the United States Constitution.
Madison entered the Federal Convention in 1787 as a nationalist, but between his experiences arguing through the various debates that arose during that four month period, and his daily correspondence with Jefferson who was in France at the time, Madison altered his positions, and by the end of the convention recognized the importance of keeping the chains of the principles of limited government tightly around the ankles of the new federal government in order to guard against the potential of a tyrannical central government. He battled against President Adams' unconstitutional Sedition Act, and he demanded that the political minds be more like statesmen, than professional politicians. In fact, during the early economic crisis that the United States was suffering through, he wrote Jefferson that the country’s problem was its “defect of adequate statesmen.”
In Virginia, Madison worked to eliminate the practice of taxation being used to fund churches, and with Jefferson he was instrumental in breaking up the hold by The Church of England as an established church in his State with the The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom of 1786 (a law that inspired the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut to write President Jefferson shortly after his electoral win in 1800, which led to Jefferson's famous letter that called for the Danbury Baptists to handle their problem at the State level because the federal government could not interfere with religious issues. . . a letter the liberal left has taken out of context and use as their evidence supporting the modern definition of the "wall of separation between church and state").
Madison, during his lifetime, constantly and consistently surpassed the odds against him. He grew up through a difficult childhood, and had anxiety attacks so severe that some people mistook them to be epileptic seizures. Yet, through it all, he became Father of the Constitution as an integral member of the delegation that met during the blistering summer of 1787 to write the law of the land, took incredible notes regarding the debates during that convention, collaborated with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton on the Federalist Papers, worked with George Mason who disagreed with him vehemently regarding the need for a Bill of Rights in order to organize the many proposed amendments down to twelve for the Bill of Rights (ten of which were ratified in 1791), battled John Adams over the Aliens and Sedition Act, battled Adams again as Secretary of State under Jefferson after President Adams' appointment of Midnight Judges (becoming the defendant in the famed Marbury v. Madison case in 1803), and then became the fourth President of the United States that, during his presidency, had to fight two wars (Barbary and War of 1812), the second war drawing such serious criticism that States threatened to secede over it. After his presidency, Madison also advised President James Monroe on foreign policy. Madison was among the last of the original founders to pass away, leaving this Earth June 28, 1836, after which his wife, Dolley Madison, published her husband's personal papers, including his previously unread notes he penned during the Federal Convention of 1787.
While the liberal left is calling for removing Alexander Hamilton from the ten dollar bill, and is considering dismantling the Jefferson Memorial because the third President of the United States owned slaves, the man who as a child freed a slave against his father's wishes and is considered to be the father of the greatest document regarding the formation of a government rooted in liberty, James Madison, should have a memorial/monument commemorating his contributions to the founding of our great country. He probably would not ask for it, considering his humility; but the decision to erect a Madison Memorial seems to be an obvious choice to anyone who is a student of American History.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
No comments:
Post a Comment