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james madison politcal life
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James Madison’s Influence on the Creation of American History
Introduction
The decade of 1790s is the most decisive decade in our nation’s history, in which the greatest statesmen of their generation came together to define the new Republic and direct its course for the coming centuries. Of all the Fathers that have contributed to the formation of American national structure that has survived until today, I picked James Madison because he strikes me as one of the most outstanding people that have achieved great consequences for American history.
All our Founding Fathers had influenced the course of the American history in some significant way. Some might have hated each other for personal or political reasons like Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton and some might have stood by each other’s side like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, but they all shared one thing: To keep the infant and fragile Union, the symbol of independence, strong and economically prosperous. Each of the Founders was of high statute in society and most were very well educated and they agreed upon a great document which set up a well rounded government for our new country.
The Compromise of 1790
It all happened one day by chance. Jefferson was the secretary of the state and Hamilton the secretary of treasury. They both were waiting outside the presidential office. Jefferson thought Hamilton looked odd and Hamilton confined that the leader of southern congressmen, James Madison, blocked the assumption of state debts by the federal government and therefore aborted his financial plan for the recovery of public credit. And Hamilton feared the whole union without the approval of his plan will inevitably meet the end.
Out of concern, ...
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...the western territories and it failed to pass by only a single vote.
Madison believed that slavery was the central cause of the most elemental division in the Constitutional Convention. It did not lie between large and small states. It laid between the North and the South. The slavery issue was a big taboo because it possessed the political potential to destroy the union. That is why even Madison, being first against slavery was suddenly hesitant to give straight answer when asked about slavery.
Madison wanted to take slavery off the national agenda because he believed that this action would result in the destruction of either Virginia planter class or union itself. Madison understood better than most that having slavery was a big betrayal to the Revolution concept, remembering Franklin’s reminder before he died not to remain silent about the slavery issue.
In the book Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, the author relates the stories of six crucial historic events that manage to capture the flavor and fervor of the revolutionary generation and its great leaders. While each chapter or story can be read separately and completely understood, they do relate to a broader common theme. One of Ellis' main purposes in writing the book was to illustrate the early stages and tribulations of the American government and its system through his use of well blended stories. The idea that a republican government of this nature was completely unprecedented is emphasized through out the book. Ellis discusses the unique problems that the revolutionary generation experienced as a result of governing under the new concept of a democracy. These problems included- the interpretation of constitutional powers, the regulation of governmental power through checks and balances, the first presidential elections, the surprising emergence of political parties, states rights vs. federal authority, and the issue of slavery in a otherwise free society. Ellis dives even deeper into the subject by exposing the readers to true insight of the major players of the founding generation. The book attempts to capture the ideals of the early revolutionary generation leaders and their conflicting political viewpoints. The personalities of Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Washington, Madison, and Jefferson are presented in great detail. Ellis exposes the reality of the internal and partisan conflict endured by each of these figures in relation to each other. Ellis emphasizes that despite these difficult hurdles, the young American nation survived its early stages because of its great collection of charismatic leaders and their ability to ...
At the time, the South depended on slavery to support their way of life. In fact, “to protect slavery the Confederate States of America would challenge the peaceful, lawful, orderly means of changing governments in the United States, even by resorting to war.” (635) Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong and realized that slavery was bitterly dividing the country. Not only was slavery dividing the nation, but slavery was also endangering the Union, hurting both black and white people and threatening the processes of government. At first, Lincoln’s goal was to save the Union in which “he would free none, some, or all the slaves to save that Union.” (634) However, Lincoln realized that “freeing the slaves and saving the Union were linked as one goal, not two optional goals.” (634) Therefore, Lincoln’s primary goal was to save the Union and in order to save the Union, Lincoln had to free the slaves. However, Paludan states that, “slave states understood this; that is why the seceded and why the Union needed saving.” (634) Lincoln’s presidential victory was the final sign to many Southerners that their position in the Union was
When the Founding Fathers got together at Philadelphia to draft the Constitution, they had many different views and opinions as to how to govern our country. At the convention, the founders fought over the issues of slavery, representation and the Congress’s powers. Their personal lives had influenced their ideas and some of the compromises made at the Constitutional Convention. The founders’ different personal experiences, economic backgrounds, and coming from states of different sizes, economy and needs, led to the creation of the Three-Fifths Compromise, The Great Compromise, and the Slave Trade Compromise.
... a white man, I would have followed willingly and gladly in any honorable enterprise. Our difference of color was the only ground for difference of action." (The Heroic Slave-77) This reveals to the reader the importance to the white mans, the idea of being white and of racial purity. Although this man reveals that Madison was a smart and admirable man, he can not respect him because he is black.
Since the beginning of their new nation, the United States had many differences between the Northern and Southern states. During the Constitutional Convention they disagreed on how to determine their representation in the house based on population; the Southerners wanted to count their slaves and the Northerners did not, which lead to the three-fifths compromise. Later in the Convention there were concessions given to the South, which left the Northerners feeling uneasy, such as: a guarantee that the slave trade would not be interfered with by Congress until 1808 and slave owners were given the right to recover refugee slaves from anywhere in the United States. While many Northern delegates were disappointed with the rights given to the South, they felt it was necessary for the good of the Nation. This was necessary to form a strong central government and union between the states.
During his entire life, James Madison, who is one of the founding fathers, contributed many dedications to the States, especially when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the fourth president of the U.S, he consciously chose to create a new model of presidential power that he thought would fit better with the system of the separation of powers after seeing “the danger overwrought executive power poses to republican constitutionalism” (Kleinerman). Despite of having such good intention, some of his actions led the country through some significant suffers.
Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery was the belief that the expansion of it to Free states and new territories should be ceased and that it eventually be abolished completely throughout the country. He believed simply that slavery was morally wrong, along with socially and politically wrong in the eyes of a Republican. Lincoln felt that this was a very important issue during the time period because there was starting to be much controversy between the Republicans and the Democrats regarding this issue. There was also a separation between the north and the south in the union, the north harboring the Free states and the south harboring the slave states. Lincoln refers many times to the Constitution and its relations to slavery. He was convinced that when our founding fathers wrote the Constitution their intentions were to be quite vague surrounding the topic of slavery and African-Americans, for the reason that he believes was because the fathers intended for slavery to come to an end in the distant future, in which Lincoln refers to the "ultimate extinction" of slavery. He also states that the men who wrote the constitution were wiser men, but obviously did not have the experience or technological advances that the men of his day did, hence the reasons of the measures taken by our founding fathers.
Thomas Jefferson is most noted as being the author of the Declaration of Independence as well as our third president. He was also a diplomat, an architect, a musician, and scientist. His last act of public service was the founding of the University of Virginia in 1819. He valued this accomplishment as much as his authorship of the Declaration of Independence. However, his presidency left great legacies that touch the lives of all Americans still today. He will forever be associated with the Supreme Court decision in the case of "Marbury v Madison," the greatest land transaction in history, the Louisiana Purchase, and with the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. Mr. Jefferson is firmly entrenched alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as one of the truly great Americans.
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were two significant figures in American history. Both men made profound contributions to America, through experience as well as knowledge and intellect.
...vil war largely due to necessity. The Union was fighting a costly war in both lives and labor, it is of no surprise then that they were desperate for both. Slaves provided a solution, cheap, dedicated labor, and soldiers willing to die for their cause. Furthermore, when this necessity was combined with eagerness on the part of the slaves to contribute and the desires of abolitionists to end slavery on moral grounds, including slaves in the struggle became more important than avoiding a delicate subject. Ultimately, the need for soldiers and laborers simply overwhelmed any desire or necessity to maintain political prudence.
...ld not protect the interest of the Southern states. Coupled with the hostilities, lack of votes for Lincoln from the South and disregard for the constitutional protection of slavery is a justifiable reason from the Southern leaders to secede from the Union.
The War of 1812 took place while president James Madison was in office. Madison was born in Orange County, Virginia in 1751. He attended the College of New Jersey, which is now well known as Princeton. Madison did many significant things both before and after he was in office. He participated in the framing of the Virginia Constitution, served in the Continental Congress and he was also a leader in the Virginia Assembly. One of his major contributions was a ratification to the Constitution. He wrote the Federalist essays along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In writing that, many people then began referring to him as the “Father of the Constitution.” Madison felt guilty for getting all the credit so he protested that the document was not “the off-spring of a single brain,” but “the work of many heads and many hands.” Also he helped frame the Bill of Rights and enact the first revenue legislation. All of those things were done before he was elected president in 1808.
It is a president’s duty to think about the people of their country so the people are happy and feel that they are equal. For presidents James Madison and James Monroe, they chose the subject of slavery. Both of them had an immense amount of wealth and owned slaves themselves. When Madison died, he still owned about 100 slaves on his estate. Monroe had a good amount of slaves too, but the two of them didn’t treat them horribly as most white owners did at the time. Madison wrote a letter to Robert Evans, an advocate for freeing the slaves. In his letter, Madison wrote his views on slavery. He stated his agreements with Evans and even wanted to move the slaves once they were free, especially those who wanted to go back to the home they were taken from. In the contents of his letter,
Both Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin believe compromise should be abandoned in order to lead a better society. Yet, Franklin considers compromising crucial on account of human nature, while Henry regards any hope for compromise futile. Regardless of their views on compromise, these great men molded the incredible country we live in today. By inspiring many to join the revolution or establishing the basis of our current government, Franklin and Henry certainly made their mark on history. Without their contributions, America would be a drastically
“[T]he man on the ten-dollar bill is the father of the American treasury system, a signer of the Constitution, one of the primary authors of the Federalist Papers, and the loser of the infamous duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. Alexander Hamilton's earlier career as a Continental Army officer is less well known. Yet Hamilton's first experience in public service is important, not only because it was the springboard to his later career, but because it also deeply influenced his values and thinking” (Hamilton).