James Madison: Father of the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

Real Answers™ Copyright: © 2001 Kendall Wingrove REMEMBERING JAMES MADISON'S GIFTS By: Kendall Wingrove This year marks the 250th anniversary of James Madison's birth. Colleges, historical societies and other organizations are sponsoring events to remember one of America's most important founding fathers. Madison served as a congressman, secretary of state and the nation's fourth president during a 40-year career. His greatest achievement came when he helped devise our system of government. Historians regard Madison as "The Father of the Constitution" and a driving force behind the subsequent Bill of Rights. Today's readers can still be impressed by his powerful comments in The Federalist Papers, which he wrote with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Many in the modern audience may be unaware, however, of Madison's strong beliefs concerning the relationship between God and civil institutions. Born into a prosperous Virginia family in 1751, Madison was a dedicated student at Princeton. After graduation, he considered becoming a minister. Then came the American Revolution. The fight for independence was a great moral and philosophical cause for Madison. He attended the Virginia Convention of 1776, which passed the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This document established fundamental guarantees of personal liberty and later became the model for our nation's Bill of Rights. It was young Madison who prompted a subtle but meaningful change in the wording of one key provision. While chief author George Mason wanted to ensure government "toleration" of religious dissent, Madison prevailed to have the passage state that "all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience." It was the first of many significant contributions that Madison would make in the great debates of the day. His mastery of philosophy and the written word would propel him to the forefront of major policy discussions. Some of Madison's crucial thoughts have been omitted from modern textbooks and ignored by recent Supreme Court decisions. But thanks to the fine scholarship of David Barton, who has earned a national reputation for his research into Madison and other founders, we now have a deeper understanding about how Madison viewed government and religion. Barton has unearthed several Madison writings that explore the role of religious principles in public affairs. "Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe," Madison said. "Religion (is) the basis and foundation of government." Another Madison quote is instructive: "It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity toward each other." These thoughts about religion and morality were central to Madison as he worked on the Constitution in 1787 and pushed tirelessly for its ratification. "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it," Madison said. "We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments." Today, the same Ten Commandments once cherished by Madison are mostly banished from the public square. Revisionists use the very Constitution that was based on them to keep these moral precepts in exile. The system of government founded by Madison and the others served us well for 200 years. Although far from perfect, the liberties it protected were instrumental in America's prosperity and survival. Psalm 144:15 put it well: "Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord." Unfortunately, recent generations have abandoned some of these basic concepts. We've forgotten our Christian heritage and allowed liberal jurists to systematically strip away our religious freedoms. And as we turn our back on these basic, eternal truths, the country continues to suffer. Proverbs 29:2 says: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people mourn." "Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; "mailto:[email protected]". Visit our website at "www.amyfound.org".

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