Observations©

By Donald S. Conkey

Date:  March 13, 2008 # 8811 - Title: James Madison on Government (800)

When was the last time you thought about James Madison, one of the Founding Father, the one who is known as the “Father of America’s unique Constitution?”

Or when was the last time you took the time to sit down with your family and tell them just how much this man, a man, in my opinion, raised up by God to become the Father of America’s Constitution, an unique document of liberty, should be revered for what he has done for their freedoms?

If you haven’t done either of these things there is no better time then next Sunday, the 256^th anniversary of his birth on March 16, 1751? He died, at age 85, on June 28, 1836 at his home at Montpellier, Virginia. In between he lived a life every American should revere. It was James Madison who was responsible for bringing together 54 wise men to a building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now known as Constitutional Hall, in May of 1787, a meeting that eventually rejected the existing unworkable Articles of Confederation and created the Constitution we now live under. It is my firm belief that each of those 54 men were born for their role in creating this document. Each played a major role and has become known as an American Founding Father, a worthy title, a title even greater than king.

He was a man of determination, a man of courage, and a man who had an unshakeable belief in God, the Holy God of the Bible, and how that God influenced the creation of our Constitution. This is reinforced by his words written in 1809, while giving his inaugural address. Said he: “We have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being, whose power regulates the destiny of nations.” All thoughtful scholars of the Bible fully comprehend that God’s laws are the true laws of our liberty.

Then in a letter to Frederick Beasley in 1825 he wrote: “The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the World and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities to be impressed with it.”

Can anyone deny Madison’s firm belief in his Living God. Was Madison a part of His Plan to restore freedom to a world then enslaved by tyrants and despots all around the world?

Madison was well prepared to become America’s fourth president, having witnessed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, then initiating the Constitutional Convention, then serving as a delegate from Virginia to this convention. Then he teamed with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to publish the Federalist Papers, papers that successfully urged the ratification of the new Constitution. Later he served as Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson, his life long tutor, and is credited for advising Jefferson to make the Louisiana Purchase. He then followed Jefferson as president. Probably no one has been better prepared to serve as President of the United States since his presidency.

Madison’s insight and perception enabled him to spot the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and then to lobby congress to make changes in them. The Articles were weak and basically inoperative, somewhat like what we perceive in Washington D.C. today. In our current process of choosing a new president we hear much talk about change, but is change possible given the current entrenchment of bureaucratic establishments?  

Does America have anyone as prepared as was Madison to lead this nation today? I’m not sure any of the current frontrunners are that prepared. And I do not think they have the foresight or understanding of how or why America was raised up to restore liberty as did Madison. They are pigmies compared to Madison. And they don’t have a clue to what this nation’s real problems are nor a hint on how to solve them, except more of the same-oh-same-oh Washington two-step.

Fortunately there is an individual emerging who has identified the problems we face and has offered common sense solutions to these major nation-killing problems. Unfortunately, unlike Madison, he carries around some baggage that will cause certain elements of our society to reject him – and in rejecting him throw out the baby with the bathwater.

That individual’s name, in my opinion is my former Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. His book, Real Change, should be read by all Americans who desire real workable change. Newt has identified the problems in Washington D.C. and he offers common sense solutions to twelve of America’s most urgent issues.

Newt Gingrich is our modern day James Madison and Tom Paine all rolled into one. John McCain would do well to ask Newt to be his vice presidential choice. Make it a M and N, McCain and Newt, ticket.