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NathanielCriderFirstPaper 6 - 09 May 2015 - Main.NathanielCrider
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The Revolutionary James Madison | | | The First Amendment guarantee of free expression thus provides a framework for a dynamic, democratically-organized society. And through the encouragement of dissent, it offers a vision of government anchored by reason and in the virtue. Of course, the First Amendment necessarily rejects that with which it is incompatible: an authoritarian politics of stagnation. Accordingly, the security offered by the First Amendment's system of free expression thus protects more than any one of its constituent functions or rights. | |
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< | As the author of the First Amendment, the writings of Madison tell us about the original expectations of the guarantee of free expression. Contrary to the picture of Madison offered to us in textbooks, his prose reveals a fierce ideology and commitment to all functions free expression. There is no doubt: Madison imbued his First Amendment with the same revolutionary spirit. | >
> | As the author of the First Amendment, the life and writings of James Madison inform the original expectations of the guarantee of free expression. Madison, to be sure, was at times ambivalent about the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. But his reservations were more pragmatic and functional than principled. Indeed, he viewed the of Rights the Bill or Rights as educational and aspirational; the inclusion of which, he believed, would enable republican citizens to govern themselves. And because the desire to include the Bill of Rights had cooled at the time of the first session of Congress, the amendments might never had been added to the constitution were it not for Madison's conviction. Although bookish and soft-spoken, Madison was the "very epitome of the thinking revolutionary." The First Amendment he authored is imbued with the same revolutionary spirit. | | | Facilitates Self-Realization | |
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< | To be sure, Madison did not advocate the self-actualizing importance of free expression as clearly as some of his contemporaries. Yet in 1785’s Memorial and Remonstrance, Madison makes it clear that freedom of religion is “held by the same tenure as all other rights” because it is “the gift of nature.” Indeed, because “the opinions of men…cannot follow the dictates of other men…[and] [i]t is the duty of every man to render the Creator such homage and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him," Madison's s principal argument is that the Virginia legislature is without the jurisdiction to issue any restriction on the freedom of conscience. | >
> | Madison did not advocate the self-actualizing importance of free expression as clearly as some of his contemporaries. Yet Madison's commitment to protecting individual's autonomy interests in free expression predated his interest in politics. In 1785’s Memorial and Remonstrance, Madison makes it clear that freedom of religion is “held by the same tenure as all other rights” because it is “the gift of nature.” Indeed, because “the opinions of men…cannot follow the dictates of other men…[and] [i]t is the duty of every man to render the Creator such homage and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him," Madison concludes that Virginia legislature is without the jurisdiction to issue any restriction on the freedom of conscience. | | | Advances Knowledge and Truth
That knowledge, or at least the most learned judgment, is advanced through open and free expression is found throughout Madison’s writings. Indirect democracy channels decision-making to representatives, who in turn mediate between groups of individuals and their opinions. And fragmentation of the electoral base floods the market with diffuse ideas. The twin assumptions of the Madisonian plan therefore require free expression. | | | Conclusion | |
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< | True, the First Amendment is the product of compromise, shepherded by the steady hand of a modest statesman. But Madison’s writings confirm that which is clear the text of the First Amendment: It is a revolutionary document securing for the people the right of free expression against despots, crafted by a willful, revolutionary man. | >
> | Madison, to be sure, was too pragmatic But Madison’s writings confirm that which is clear the text of the First Amendment: It is a revolutionary document securing for the people the right of free expression against despots, crafted by a willful, revolutionary man. | | |
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