James Madison and the Constitution: Making America
James Madison insisted that his brand-new nation might not prosper without a Constitution. Why? No other nation on the planet had one. What made America various? Dinesh D’Souza deciphers the secret.
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Script:.
The preamble to the American Constitution starts with the phrase “We individuals …”.
But could individuals of America be counted on do the ideal thing all or perhaps the majority of the time?
The primary architect of the Constitution, James Madison, offered this concern a good deal of thought..
His response was a chosen “no.”.
” Whenever there is an interest and power to do wrong,” he said, “wrong will normally be done.”.
For his brand-new country, Madison desired as much flexibility as possible with as little federal government as possible. However he had no illusions. Tyranny, he understood, is available in numerous forms. It’s not confined to dictatorships and monarchies..
In a democratic society, the danger of tyranny comes from individuals themselves..
The Founders called this the “tyranny of the majority.” The bulk will, if it can, put its own interests above those of the minority and usually not be reluctant to deny it of its freedoms and rights..
This is why Madison was preoccupied with the problem of what he called “factions,” the word he used for any kind of organized pressure group. Madison deemed both minority and majority factions dangerous. Due to the fact that minority factions can be curbed by the power of the bulk.
This is the main purpose of the Constitution: to restrict, frustrate, and in some cases obstruct majority guideline. As Madison put it, the excellent task was to create a file that would “very first allow the government to manage the governed” and “in the next place oblige it to control itself.”.
How to do this?.
Madison had a plan.
The Constitution had to be composed down..
We’re so accustomed today to national constitutions that we require to remember that, prior to the American constitution, no nation in the world had one. And since the adoption of the US constitution, lots of countries have actually had constitutions that reoccured, some enduring just a few years. Yet the American constitution has actually now withstood for nearly two and a half centuries.
The original document was composed on 4 pieces of parchment and is 4543 words long. Its amazing brevity perfectly matches its function: to develop a framework for restricted federal government. To Madison, this indicated that the authority of the federal government should cover specific noted or “identified” areas. Outside those areas, the government has no authority..
Second, the rights of the people had to be clearly defined.
That’s why the first ten modifications to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights contain a series of limitations on federal government..
The rights in the Bill of Rights generally start, “Congress will make no law …” Congress will make no law limiting free speech, or flexibility of journalism, or the free exercise of religion..
Third, the principle of representative government needed to be plainly specified..
Representative federal government indicates that the people do not rule straight; they rule by electing agents who govern in their stead. Madison counted this practice– an extreme departure from the direct democracy of the ancient Athenians– as the distinguishing mark between “democracy” and a “republic.” A prolonged and large society, Madison argued, can work successfully just as a republic.
And a republic is a far better guard against tyranny of the majority than a democracy, in which, by definition, the bulk can do whatever it desires.
Fourth, the power within the federal government must be divided.
The Constitution separates power in between an elected legislature charged with making laws, an elected executive charged with enforcing them, and a designated judiciary empowered with solving legal disagreements..
A more division happens in between the nationwide government and the states so that some powers are exercised at the nationwide level, others at the state and local level..
Fifth, shared oversight– balances and checks– was needed to limit the power of the private branches.
For the total script as well as FACTS & SOURCES, go to https://www.prageru.com/video/james-madison-and-the-constitution-making-america.
source
James Madison insisted that his new nation might not succeed without a Constitution. For his brand-new nation, Madison wanted as much flexibility as possible with as little government as possible. Madison considered both minority and bulk factions unsafe. And since the adoption of the United States constitution, lots of countries have had constitutions that went and came, some enduring simply a couple of years. The American constitution has actually now endured for nearly two and a half centuries.
