While standing a mere 5”4” tall, making him the shortest president in history, James Madison’s achievements make him one of America’s greatest Founding Fathers of all. Before occupying the White House, Madison established quite a name for himself as a legislator, before serving as a trusted adviser to President George Washington and Secretary of State in the Jefferson administration.
Madison lives on through his contributions to the structure of our government. Examples can be seen through the separation of powers, a bicameral legislature and proportional representation.
Yet today, separated government is threatened by an unelected and out-of-control federal bureaucracy that increasingly makes the decisions that affect ordinary Americans every day.
In Madison’s time, he foresaw this threat and became a strong believer in representative government. In order to overcome the tyranny of the majority, Madison conceived a system where diverse groups would compete against each other, keeping a single group from dominating the others.
This system has served America well for over 200 years. And Madison authored the Constitution to promote the concept of self-government over government control; making America the greatest nation ever conceived.
Madison is also responsible for the Bill of Rights, legal protections which he conceived to prevent the federal government from usurping our inalienable, God-given rights. Madison just might have been clairvoyant as this area is increasingly under attack by the Left.
In just slightly over three and a half years, the Biden administration has relentlessly sought to undercut the Constitution and to destroy long-cherished traditions and institutions that have stood the test of time since America’s founding.
And notably, Congress has increasingly surrendered its delegated power to the executive branch, with government through executive order more commonly ruling the day. This is most certainly not what Madison and the Founders intended, as Joe Biden has directly attacked with regularity the protections insured by the Constitution.
Though Madison often takes a back seat when compared with Founding Fathers such as Washington, Adams and Jefferson, his importance this July 4th should be especially recognized for establishing the governmental checks and balances that set the tone for the grand American experiment.
At this very moment, sinister forces are united in their efforts to destroy our republic and the document that Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” authored that guarantee the basic rights and freedoms we often take for granted. Without question, it would be a tragedy of epic proportions if his herculean efforts were to ever be in vain. And that’s a truth worth passing down to every generation throughout the course of time.
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
