James Madison drafted the Constitution, sponsored the Bill of Rights, co-wrote the Federalist Papers, and was the fourth U.S. President.
Madison was one of the more centered figures in early American politics. Standing only 5′ 4” – 5′ 6” Madison wasn’t the tallest President (that is Lincoln) or founding father (think that was Washington), but he did contribute more to America in terms of the principles and structure underlying the Republic than any person in American history. Unlike most of his peers, Madison supported both Federalist and Anti-Federalist principles, however, when push came to shove, he ran as a Democratic-Republican (an offshoot of the anti-Federalists).
Bernie Sanders can still technically be elected President by electors (who vote December 19th, 2016). This could be done by 270 electors voting for Bernie, or by Trump being deprived a 270 majority and the House electing Bernie.
As James Madison said when discussing special interest factions and liberty in the Federalist #10, “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires”.
Madison drafted both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but he wasn’t the sole author of either, both were debated and approved by committees.
Alexander Hamilton founded the Federalist Party, the world’s first voter-based political party, which helped shape America’s economic policy and power structure.
Thomas Jefferson never said, “every generation needs a new revolution”, but he did say, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
The point of the Second Amendment is to secure a free-state via a well-regulated state-run militia. Thus, people have the right to keep and bear arms.
James Madison can be considered the father of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Madison drafted the Constitution, drafted and sponsored the Bill of Rights, and co-wrote the Federalist Papers.
It is a myth that your vote doesn’t count. Despite the electoral college electing the President directly, every vote counts. It just counts in complex ways that differ by election, state, and region.
The US political parties, now called Democrats and Republicans, switched platform planks, ideologies, and members many times in American history.
Reason is the application of “pure logic”, empirical evidence, experiment, and skepticism to find truths, facts, and theories (AKA “critical thinking”).
Separation of Powers describes the way in which government is divided into different branches (ex. in the U.S., the legislative, executive, and judicial). Checks and balances describe the powers each branch has to “check” the other branches and ensure a balance of power.
We explain the political terms conservative, moderate, liberal, progressive, and radical and how they are used in different contexts.
The Federalists and Anti-Federalists were the first political factions of the U.S.. They arose out of a debate over the ratification of the 1787 Constitution and went on to form the basis of our current two-party system.
On this page, we look at political parties from a historical perspective to better understand the underlying left-right politics all political parties are based on.
America’s founding fathers intended the U.S. to be a Republic (elected officials vote on laws), rather than a Direct Democracy (everyone votes on laws).
Special interests describe interests that are not purely public interests. Factions (special interest groups) are groups formed around shared interests (special interests).
The Philosophy of Governments It can be very attractive to have a list of government types, but yet that list may teach a person very little. Here instead is a look at the philosophy behind the government types that create that list. For a simpler list and look, see our page on “the types of . . . read more
Below is the Federalist #10, written by James Madison, and reprinted in full. We explain, annotate, and offer context on the Federalist #10.
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