Dear Mr. Madison, or do you prefer James?
My name is Hal. Although I’m writing nearly two centuries after your presidency, I’m not all that different from you. I too am diminutive in stature. My hairline, like yours, has of late retreated quicker than the British at Lake Erie during the War of 1812. You married a Dolley; I married a Holly.
I know you’re probably busy crafting policy behind St. Peter’s pearly gates, but I just wanted to write and say thank you for all you did to defuse government power. Many voters right now are fretting about the major party presidential candidates in the United States. But, thanks to you, we have some assurance (however slim it may be) that the Constitution will continue to moderate extremist policies, regardless of who wins this election.
By way of an update, since you were last in office, our population has ballooned from around 8 million to nearly 320 million. Moreover, we now have 50 states.
And, although the nation has experienced plenty of changes and become increasingly complex, some things remain the same. Our republican democracy, for example, is still inefficient, stubborn and slow. In short, it’s working precisely the way you designed it.
Now, given your disputes with Alexander Hamilton, you’ll undoubtedly be lachrymose to learn about our Federal Reserve System and the hit Broadway musical memorializing your adversary. But, overall you should feel immense pride.
Your checks and balances, though weatherworn, still stand strong.
Thanks to you, in two centuries the only kings we’ve crowned have been hip shacking crooners, moonwalking pop stars, or Cleveland-based basketball stars (I’ll have to explain in a subsequent letter).
I know full well that you were not a perfect person. Your Virginian commitment to slavery was catastrophic. However, your prescient constitutional design prevented our nation from indulging its dangerous predilection for would-be kings.
Thankfully, you set up safeguards to thwart these impulses: the frustrating bicameral legislature, the executive veto, and the at times infuriating judiciary. Perhaps your finest Frankenstein was the painstakingly slow process of constitutional amendment; you wrote: “It guards equally against that extreme facility which would render the Constitution too mutable; and that extreme difficulty which might perpetuate its discovered faults.”
These cleverly crafted checks have proven effective at thwarting ambitious presidents and politicians from consolidating unfettered power without extraordinary political support. You understood, the moderating force of our republic was its large size and diversity. As you put it: “Improper or wicked project(s) will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union.”
The principles you put in place are as relevant today as they were when you broke free from Britain.
Indeed, in our current political climate, one candidate is promising to strong-arm tax increases while expanding government programs. The other threatens to enact troubling protectionist tariffs that would likely hurt consumers while helping foreign competitors.
The Constitution has never been more relevant.
Just yesterday the governor of Maine — you remember Maine, right? — claimed the Constitution was “broken” and that America needed “some authoritarian power in our country.”
He couldn’t be more wrong. Thankfully, the Constitution is not broken. And any “authoritarian” action, which, by definition, means to compel obedience without regard to individual rights, would be subject to judicial scrutiny.
Alas, please forgive my missive. I just thought you’d appreciate knowing that what you framed still remains firm, elegant and inspiring. If you don’t believe me, even a guy from Britain (yeah, you read that right) admitted last century that “democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms.”
Well James, if I may, whilst Alexander Hamilton revels in his newly won Tony Awards or basks in just how important the Fed has become, please know that there are millions of folks like me who feel deeply indebted to your contribution to this country and our Constitution. Come Nov. 8, no matter who wins, Americans everywhere will sigh in collective relief that you helped craft the Constitution.
By the way, just so you know, I think it’s a shame they discontinued the $5,000 bill. Having the smallest president on the biggest bill was a great look.
Hal Boyd is opinion editor of the Deseret News
Email: hboyd@deseretnews.com
Twitter: Halrboyd