Essay
James Madison and the Constitution
James Madison had just turned twenty-five when he took up his first public office as a delegate...
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Showing results 1 – 10 of 17
Glossary Term – Organization
republicanism
When asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had created, Benjamin Franklin replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution contains an unamendable provision that begins: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government.” This refers to the principles and practices appropriate to a government in which ultimate authority resides in the people and in which elected officials and representatives are responsible to the people and must govern...
Glossary Term – Person
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816) was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Articles of the Confederation, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. As a framer of the Constitution, Morris advocated the creation of an executive branch and an electoral college. After the founding, Morris served as a minister to France and, later, in the Senate.
Glossary Term – Person
George Mason
George Mason (1725–1792) was an American political leader from Virginia who opposed strong central government and supported protections for individual liberties. During the 1760s and 1770s, Mason vocally opposed British policies and called on colonists to oppose the Stamp Act in 1765. He drafted the Fairfax Resolves in 1774 and Virginia’s Declaration of Rights in 1776. His Declaration of Rights became a model for the Declaration of Independence. It also became a foundation for the Constitutional Bill of Rights adopted in 1791. At the...
Glossary Term – Person
John Dickinson
John Dickinson (1732–1808) was the “penman of the revolution” who in 1768 published Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, a pamphlet that opposed the Townshend Duties of 1767. Dickinson served as a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses. While he opposed oppressive acts of the British government, for a time he also advocated peaceful reconciliation with the Crown. He later served as president of the Annapolis Convention and as a delegate to to the Constitutional Convention...
Glossary Term – Person
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (1736–1799) was a major figure in the American Revolution and the first governor of the state of Virginia. Henry was not highly educated, but his skills as an orator propelled him to leadership in the Revolutionary era. As a member of the House of Burgesses, Henry vehemently opposed the 1765 Stamp Act. He helped organize Virginia’s first Committee of Correspondence and served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. At a meeting of the Virginia Convention in 1775, he stated his commitment to independence...
Glossary Term – Person
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (1705–1790) was one of America’s first renaissance men—his career included work as a statesman, scientist, writer, printer, and diplomat. Born in Boston, Franklin eventually settled in Philadelphia. He published Poor Richard’s Almanack for twenty-five years and later wrote an autobiography that is still in print. His inventions, such as the bifocal lens and the Franklin stove, as well as his investigations into the properties of lightning, earned him international recognition. Widely popular in...
Glossary Term – Person
Rufus King
Rufus King (1755–1827) was one of the framers of the US Constitution. King served in the Massachusetts state legislature from 1783 to 1784 and then in Congress, where he was responsible for the resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention in 1787. An ardent Federalist, King supported the strong central government created by the Constitution and advocated for the document’s ratification. King was also an opponent of slavery who supported compensated emancipation and in 1785 introduced a congressional resolution prohibiting slavery in...
Glossary Term – Person
James Madison
James Madison (1751–1836) was born in Port Conway, Virginia. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in two years rather than the usual four with concentrations in theology, history, and law. In 1776, he drafted Virginia’s first constitution and bill of rights, which later became a model for the Bill of Rights amendments to the US Constitution. Madison supported religious toleration and the separation of church and state. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779 and the Constitutional Convention in...