James Madison

          James Madison has been known as our fourth president. He has been known as the Father of the Constitution. But what does that mean? Madison was president of the United States. Did that make him a good person? What kind of person was James Madison? Was he moral? Was he virtuous? What do those words even mean, and what is public virtue? I’m going to clarify those three words and what they mean before the main segment of my report.

          Gordon S. Wood wrote in “The Creation of the American Republic” on public virtue: “In a republic, however, each man must somehow be persuaded to submerge his personal wants into the greater good of the whole. This willingness of the individual to sacrifice his private interest for the good of the community—such patriotism or love of country—the 18^th century termed public virtue… The 18^th century mind was thoroughly convinced that a popularly government cannot be supported without virtue.” So public virtue is basically when somebody gives up what they want or need for the greater good of the community (or at least that’s what it meant in the 18^th century). Being virtuous and moral is basically knowing right from wrong and doing right. Having defined these terms, I will now continue.

James Madison is one of my heroes. He did a lot of great things in his life because he had a great mission to fulfill. He was also a moral and virtuous man in doing these things. My report isn’t just about the things Madison did in his life, but how he did them.

          One of the greatest, if not the greatest thing James Madison did in his life was helping with the Constitution. Madison was considered the Father of the Constitution because he spoke his opinion on pretty much every problem in the Constitutional Convention. I believe that he, along with many others who attended the Convention, was inspired by God to make that brilliant document. For example, William Pierce, a delegate from Georgia, wrote this about Madison: “… every person seems to acknowledge his greatness. In the management of every great question he evidently took the lead in the Convention… he always comes forward as the best informed man of any point in debate”.

          This brilliant government we have today is a result of James Madison and others sacrificing their fortunes, honor, and, many of them, their lives. They showed public virtue by sitting in a hot, stuffy room with uncomfortable clothes, arguing and debating for months. They couldn’t even open the windows for air because they knew that this document was too sacred to be lied about by Satan’s followers to the people of the United States.  And to just think that they did all of this, not for their own sake, but for the sake of others and for their country. Do many of us know, or even care that they did that? Many of the people of the United States of America instead teach the next generation the opposite: that the Constitution needs to change because these men were not moral or virtuous. And they only teach it because they don’t even understand what these men did. Everything the founders did in that room in Independence Hall was for someone besides themselves. How much public virtue can you have?

          Madison was the President of the United States, and that’s what he’s best known for. But it shouldn’t be. Madison should be known for what he did in Philadelphia in the hot, humid summer of 1787, but he still did great things as President. Madison was the President during the War of 1812. Can you imagine how hard it would be to be the leader of a country during a war? The British burned down his mansion during the war. He narrowly escaped death, and he didn’t even know that his wife was alive until days later. He was criticized every day for what he did in office. He didn’t have to be President. He didn’t have to deal with every lie that was spread around about him. He had already retired from public life. But he chose to serve his country, for the greater good of the people then and now. That is public virtue.

          Could James Madison have done more for his country than that? Serve as President of the United States of America and play the main role in writing the most brilliant document ever written? Could one man have done more for his country? He could have just sat back, relaxed. He could have said it was impossible to do more, and he would have been right. But James Madison was better than that. He could do more than possible. And yes he did.

          Madison wasn’t just the Father of the most brilliant document ever written, but he was the Father of 2 of the most brilliant documents ever written, and he played a critical part in another one. James Madison was the Father of the Bill of Rights, a document that listed our most important unalienable rights. It took 10 amendments and many hours at work for this to be accomplished. This document, I believe, was inspired by God as well. I also believe this document perfected the Constitution. But the Constitution wasn’t even ratified yet! “What is the point of making the most brilliant government ever known to mankind if this blessed country does not even abide by it?” Madison may have asked himself.

          James Madison had already developed that burning desire for serving his country and he was determined to put this brilliant government into action. The people needed to know why to ratify it. So he helped write the Federalist Papers, to persuade the states to ratify this document. He did even more than that, too. Virginia, his state, had its ratifying convention when eight states had ratified the Constitution. Only one more state was needed, do but this government into effect. But the odds were against James Madison, because Patrick Henry, a great and powerful speaker, was attending the convention. And he was against the Constitution. Even though Patrick Henry spoke loud and clear in his powerful voice, and James Madison had a very weak voice, Virginia ratified the Constitution that day. I believe that God caused that to happen through his servants, one of them being James Madison.

          Madison had done it! He had fought through the long, hard battle and won! Couldn’t he have sat back and enjoyed everything he had worked for? No, because James Madison, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and many, many other great and virtuous men, did these things for you. They gave up everything they had, their liberties, their comfort, their necessities and their lives, for you. Not for themselves, for you. And that is public virtue.

          James Madison is my hero for not only doing all of these great things, but doing them for me. I have many other heroes, but Madison is one of my favorites, along with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Madison once said, “Each generation should be made to bear the burden of its own wars, instead of carrying them on, at the expense of other generations.”