Commentary Forrest McDonald, perhaps the 20th century’s greatest constitutional historian, observed in his book “Novus Ordo Seclorum” that the framers produced a Constitution very different from the one James Madison sought. Madison did agree with most of his fellow framers on some broad outlines: a two-house Congress, an independent executive, and an independent judiciary. However,…

Among the constitutional amendments, the First is the most sacred. Its guarantees of the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition have made American shores a beacon for the world. The quiet and bookish man who first proposed it spent many years reflecting on its related issues in solitude—an uncommon pastime…

Dolley Madison, wife of the fourth president, James Madison, had more than a few things in common with the “first” first lady, Martha Washington. Dolley, like Martha, was a young, widowed mother when she married the man who was to become president of the United States. She was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, to…

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives,” wrote President James Madison. For six months, the “Father of the Constitution” sequestered himself in his upstairs study in the family’s Virginia home, Montpelier. There, he engaged in an intensive study…

At first glance, James Madison (1751–1836) appeared unimpressive. A second glance would likely produce the same result. He was often plagued by ill health, including what were then known as bilious fevers and a mild form of possible epilepsy. His frailty prevented him from serving in the Continental Army, and years later, as president, he…

Eric Horton, manager of the Klingspor’s Woodworking Shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was in for a surprise the day his lumber buyer came across some original tree slabs from Founding Father James Madison’s estate. The slab that really piqued Horton’s interest was a cedar one allegedly gifted by the Marquis de Lafayette to James Madison…

Commentary In recent years, American civic culture has suffered deep cleavages. Civil conversations have been poisoned by battles over the meaning of America’s past, and which figures we should revere—and condemn. Even America’s Founding Fathers have come under the microscope, but one—Alexander Hamilton—has been spared such judgments by the massive popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s runaway…

Commentary As George Washington’s first presidential administration, the first term of government under the United States Constitution, neared its end in 1793, the president found himself confronting a form of populism antithetical to stable politics in a republic. The situation emerged from the turbulent development of highly polarized partisan politics, along with efforts by France’s…

Commentary There has never been a time when our nation wasn’t divided by partisanship. Yet some eras are more divisive than others, and few of us would deny that we’re living through an especially polarized time. For those who don’t trust their instincts on this question, numerous surveys bear out a collective hunch: polarization really…

Montpelier, the lifelong plantation-style home of James Madison, founding father, diplomat, and fourth president of the United States, has as rich and varied a history as the man who made it famous.  The property of the National Historic Landmark, which covers over 2,600 acres, belonged to the Madison family as early as the 1720s. When…