Constitution: The Rule of Law

by Deaver Brown, James Madison

James Madison strongly believed in the need for checks and balances in government to control the warring factions as he called them. In early 1788 Madison wrote 40% of the Federalist Papers to this effect, which earned him the respect of the delegates from the 13 colonies attending the Philadelphia Convention convened to modify the Articles of Confederation or approve a better Constitution for the United States.

Based on this respect, the Convention approved Madison to write a draft for an improved Constitution. Madison achieved this by creating a balance between large and small states, with the House providing proportional representation by population, and the Senate having 2 Senators per state regardless of size. He further proposed an independent federal judiciary, though concerned about the impact of its independent power with lifetime appointments. It proved to be one of his best ideas.

Madison, as with Thomas Jefferson, was learned in many languages, especially Latin & Greek. He looked back to the Athens of Pericles, Magna Carta, Martin Luther's 95 Theses, and the Enlightenment in general. Madison drew upon the 16 documents and events described in this eBook, starting with the Charter of Henry I in 1100 leading to Magna Carta, through the Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, English Bill of Rights, Rights of British America, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, and Virginia Plan.

Madison read Plato, Socrates as transcribed by Plato, and was well & fully aware that the American experiment was launched by the Declaration of Independence, memorialized by the Constitution, and the first democracy since ancient Athens.

This eBook includes the unabridged 16 documents that preceded the Constitution and influenced it. The older documents have been retranslated from Latin & older English into modern English for smoother reading and better comprehension.

Each of the 16 documents and events have been described and analyzed as well as presented in their unabridged entirety.



Constitution
Author James Madison
About the Great Thoughts Series
Series Editor Deaver Brown
General This eBook

Chapter 1: Background
Pericles Funeral 4th Century BC
Charter of Liberties of Henry August 5, 1100
Magna June 15, 1215
Mayflower November 11, 1620
Petition of June 7, 1628
Fundamental Orders of January 14, 1639
Massachusetts Body of December 1641
English Bill of April 11, 1689
A Summary View of the Rights of British July 1774
Virginia Declaration of June 12, 1776
Virginia July 2, 1776
Declaration of July 4, 1776
Articles of March 1, 1781
Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783
Virginia Statute of Religious January 16, 1786
Virginia May 29, 1787
Chapter 2: Constitution
Background and Meaning
Chapter 3: Constitution
The Unabridged Document
Chapter 4: Simply Notes
Chapter 5: Simply Discussion
Chapter 6: Summary
Chapter 7: Core Suggested Reading
Chapter 8: The Unabridged Documents
Pericles Funeral 4th Century BC
Charter of Liberties of Henry August 5, 1100
Magna June 15, 1215
Mayflower November 11, 1620
Petition of June 7, 1628
Fundamental Orders of January 14, 1639
Massachusetts Body of December 1641
English Bill of April 11, 1689
A Summary View of the Rights of British July 1774
Virginia Declaration of June 12, 1776
Virginia July 2, 1776
Declaration of July 4, 1776
Articles of March 1, 1781
Treaty of September 3, 1783
Virginia Statute of Religious January 16, 1786
Virginia May 29, 1787

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2010