When the federal Constitution was approved by the states and went into
effect in 1789, the absence of a Bill of Rights was the loudest and most
effective criticism of it. Although he believed that individual rights
were fully protected by the Constitution as it was ratified, Madison recognized
that drafting a Bill of Rights was politically imperative. His "Notes
for a Speech in Congress," June 8, 1789, highlights the arguments
he used as a leader in the First Federal Congress to push 12 amendments
to the Constitution through Congress in its first year. Ten of these amendments
were ratified by the states and have been enshrined as the Bill of Rights.
The James
Madison Papers are now available online and consist of approximately
12,000 items that document the fourth president's life through correspondence,
personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal
and financial documents, and miscellaneous manuscripts.
For those interested in secret symbols, there is an essay on "James
Madison's Ciphers." Madison, as a Virginia delegate to the Continental
Congress, while he was secretary of state and in his personal correspondence
with Jefferson, continually feared that unauthorized people would seek
to read his private and public correspondence. To deter such intrusions,
he resorted to a variety of codes and ciphers.
Another essay recounts Madison's experiences during the Constitutional
Convention of 1787. Although Madison believed that individual rights
were fully protected by the Constitution without amendment, Madison recognized
that drafting a Bill of Rights was politically imperative. His "Notes
for a Speech in Congress," June 8, 1789, highlights the arguments
he used as a leader in the First Federal Congress to push 12 amendments
to the Constitution through Congress in its first year. Ten of these amendments
were ratified by the states and have been enshrined as the Bill of Rights.
"The James Madison Papers" online presentation complements
other online presidential papers from the Library of Congress, also available
through American Memory: George
Washington, Thomas
Jefferson and Abraham
Lincoln.
You can see all 13 collections in American Memory relating to presidents
here.
