October 25

"The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted."

James Madison, 4th President, 1809-1817- from Madison's notes during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, July 11, 1787. The United States of America didn't just "appear" on July 4, 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. The war for independence was fought until October 19, 1781 when General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. The Treaty of Paris was subsequently signed on September 3, 1783, officially recognizing the United states as an independent country. Of course, we know George Washington was our first President, but he did not take office until 1789. What happened between those years of 1783 and 1789? The new nation started its existence guided by the Articles of Confederation, which created a nation of pre-existing states, rather than a government over individuals. (http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro/). The result was strong state and local government but a weak centralized government. In stepped Madison, along with other statesmen, including George Washington. The solution, concluded Madison, was to create an extended republic, in which a variety of opinions, passions, and interests would check and balance each other, supported by a governmental framework that endorsed a separation of powers between the branches of the general government. (http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro/). Thus, in February of 1787, the Confederation Congress endorsed the meeting of the Grand Convention “for the sole purpose of revising the articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress...(to)render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union.” It is during these sessions of debate and discussion that Madison makes his quote. On that day, the discussion turned toward representation. Some believed that the majority should rule. Others held that men of wealth and education should have more say. They would be bound by duty, honor, and their oaths. If that were not enough, they should not represent the people. The discussion turned to who would be more trustworthy- those of the North, South, or the West. Here, Madison, ever the wit, gives his opinion: To reconcile the gentleman with himself, it must be imagined that he determined the human character by the points of the compass. Then on a more serious note: The truth was that all men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree...(it) had been mentioned where it was admitted that those who were possessed of the power in the original settlement, never admitted the new settlements to a due share of it. England was a still more striking example. The power there had long been in the hands of the boroughs, of the minority; who had opposed & defeated every reform which had been attempted.After much debate, disagreement, and controversy, the Constitution was adopted. The United States would have a centralized federal government and individuals and minorities would have rights and protection under the law; we would not be governed merely by majority rule.