James Madison Jr. was born on 16th March 1751 in Virginia Colony, British America. He was a famous American statesman, diplomat, philosopher, and the fourth President of the United States. He is also called the Father of the Constitution due to his immense contribution in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States.
He attended the College of New Jersey in 1769. After graduation, he returned home and participated in local politics. He was elected to the Virginia Legislature in 1776. Madison fought to amend the Virginia Declaration of Rights to ensure religious liberty in natural rights.
He was the main author of the Virginia Plan. Madison played a central role in three stages- drafting, arguing, and explaining the Constitution. He was the first historian of the Constitutional Convention.
Among 85 essays in The Federalist No.49, he alone wrote 29. In the early 1790s, he helped to find America's first political party, the Democratic-Republicans. Of the twelve amendments formally proposed by Congress to the states, ten amendments were ratified as additions to the Constitution on 15th December 1791, becoming known as the Bill of Rights. He was elected PresidentPresident of the United States in 1808. He urged Congress to declare war against Great Britain.
The James Madison Memorial Building is a building of the United States Library of Congress and serves as the official memorial to Madison. In 1986, Congress created the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation as part of the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution.
He returned to his plantation at Montpelier after his retirement. Madison often feared for the worst circumstances and was a hypochondriac. Madison died at Montpelier on 28th June 1836 due to heart failure.
Some of the most famous James Madison Quotes are as follows.
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
Discipline is the most important trait in humans. A disciplined man never needed anyone else to tell them what to do and how to do it. If all the men were disciplined enough, then there would be no need for a government to rule them. Those who are disciplined can do everything on their own and all by themselves.
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
Ignorance is not bliss. Knowledge is the ultimate weapon that humans have. One who is curious and interested in gaining knowledge never fails in anything. People who wish to be their own governors and run their own governments should know them.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
Tyranny and oppression are never welcomed in a country. One resorts to tyranny and oppression when he is fighting against other countries. One should never try to opt for those ways because that paves the way for tyranny and oppression to come inside a country.
Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.
Liberty is fundamental to all individuals. Those who abuse liberty, violate it and stop people from enjoying actual liberty. At the same time, those who are in the game of abusing their powers are often disregarded as humans. They are the worst kind of tyrants and dictators.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
True liberty can be attained only when one seeks knowledge and has an open mind. One who has a broad perspective and is knowledgeable can help give liberty and protect liberty from violations.
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws are so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
The people only choose the head of the country, and the representatives should always show the interest of the people. The representatives show the interests of the people. They should always make the laws in favor of the people of their country. The makers should not make laws that violate the rights of an individual.
Continue reading some more James Madison Quotes....
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.
Those who have power can never be trusted. Whenever one gets a lot of power, he becomes overwhelmed and indecisive. The powerful people ought to misuse their powers. That is human psychology.
The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.
The people make the government of a nation. The people choose their representatives and, in turn, form the government of the nation. The powerholders often misuse and abuse their powers. This has always been like this. The most influential people always misuse their powers and try to get decisions in their favor.
Philosophy is common sense with big words.
Philosophy is just common sense with huge words. We all know the day-to-day things that we go through, we all feel the emotions and we all go through tough times that life throws at us. We learn from them and we know what philosophy we should apply, we all know about the philosophy; we are just not aware of the terminologies that are associated with them.
A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.
A popular government is the one where they try to convey a message, motto, or information to its people or citizens. The government should have proper propaganda and ways to acquire it. If the popular government doesn't provide the same to its citizens, it should be either a farce or tragedy or both.
As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.
When people know that they are fallible and they have the liberty to exercise it; they form different opinions. When one knows he is ready to commit mistakes, and he can exercise it is when he knows that he is at liberty.
Few more James Madison Quotes...
A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.
Democracy is a form of government in which the people of the country choose the head of the government. A pure and true democracy can only be established when the population is small and when they assemble together and choose their leader and representatives.
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
One often opts for ways of tyranny and oppression as a defense against foreign danger. This imbibes in the minds of the people the idea of the same. They try to know about those ways and gradually adopt them in their home as well. We should always disregard such means to attain freedom.
A well-instructed people alone can be permanently free people.
A person who is well-instructed and knowledgeable never accepts any other power to suppress them. They are extremely free people and they can enjoy their freedom to its fullest. A well-instructed person can be free from outside, from his thoughts and actions; it's a state of mind. A knowledgeable person can never be trapped.
No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
War and peace can never go hand in hand. They are the opposite of each other. No nation can preserve its peace and freedom amidst war. War is often fought to regain freedom and peace. When two nations take part in a battle, it becomes mandatory for one of them to lose and accept its opponent as a superior force.
