Madison: Writings by Jack Rakove

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In The Federalist, James Madison explained that the American Founding differed from those of ancient regimes in part because it was the product of an assembly of men, and not just a single lawgiver. We might say that Madison represented the “mind” of this compound Founding—just as Washington gave the regime its character, and Jefferson its spirit (although he was not present at the Constitutional Convention). None of the Founders thought more deeply than Madison about how to make real the immediate and long-term aspirations of America: “…the Citizens of the U.S. are responsible for the greatest trust ever confided to a Political Society. If justice, good faith, honor, gratitude, and all the other qualities which enoble the character of a nation, and fulfill the end of Government, be the fruits of our establishments, the cause of liberty will acquire a dignity and lustre, which it has never yet enjoyed; and an example will be set which cannet but have the most favorable influence in the rights of mankind.”

The Library of America has just published a one-volume collection of Madison's writings, edited by Stanford University historian Jack Rakove. (Rakove has also written a concise biography of Madison, as well as the Pulitzer Prize winning history, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution.) This volume contains 197 documents written between 1772 and 1836, including all 29 of Madison's recognized contributions to The Federalist. The argument of Federalist 10—in favor of an extended commercial republic—is widely recognized as a classic of political theory, but it is by no means Madison's complete or final word on republican government and majority rule. Madison's Federalist essays in the Rakove collection should be read as a whole, particularly in light of Federalist 51, with its argument that under the proposed constitution, “a coalition of a majority of the whole society could seldom take place on any general principles other than those of justice a nd the general good.”

Of course, Madison's contribution to American political thought of course extends well beyond his work in preparing for, drafting, and defending the Constitution. One will want to reflect on Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785), on the meaning of religious liberty; the remarks in Congress on the Bill of Rights (1789); the National Gazette essays of the early 1790s, which laid the groundwork for the original Republican Party and also demonstrated Madison's sophisticated understanding of the role of public opinion in the new regime; the controversial Virginia Resolutions Against the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798); Madison's key presidential messages (1809-1817); and his reflections in retirement, including Advice to My Country (1834). Rakove's collection includes a judicious selection of official and unofficial correspondence—with Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe, and others—in which Madison tries out, defends, and improves his ideas.

Once caution: Madison: Writings has very little in the way of explanatory text. The reader sees Madison, and little else. For those who want to supplement the original sources with stimulating, yet appropriately modest reflections on the Madison's project, turn to Marvin Meyers' edited collection The Mind of the Founder: Sources of the Political Thought of James Madison, revised edition (Brandeis University Press by the University Press of New England.