The Political Philosophy of James Madison (The Political Philosophy of the American Founders)
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: October 17, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 152
ISBN-13: 9780801864797
Subjects: American history: c 1500 to c 1800; Political leaders & leadership; Political science & theory; c 1700 to c 1800; Philosophy; Political Theory; Biography & Autobiography; United States - General; Politics/International Relations; USA; Political; Constitutions; History / United States / General; Philosophers; 1751-1836; Contributions in political sci; Madison, James,
First sentence: BY THE END of the millennium, scholarship concerning early American political theory had reached a basic consensus, namely that three main ideologies existed during the Revolutionary and early Republican periods: Lockean liberalism, classical republicanism, and Protestant Christianity.
Description: "In this book, Garrett Ward Sheldon offers a concise synthesis of Madison's political philosophy in the context of the social and political history of his day.".

"Tracing the history of Madison's thought of his early education in Protestant theology, Sheldon argues that it was a fear of the potential "tyranny of the majority" over individual rights, along with a firmly Calvinist suspicion of the motives of sinful men, that led him to support a constitution creating a strong central government with power over state laws. In this way, Madison aimed to protect individual liberties and provide checks to "spiteful" human interests and selfish parochial prejudices.

Among the topics Sheldon covers are Madison's Princeton education, his contributions to the Federalist Papers, his arguments in defense of states' rights on behalf of Virginia, his views on federal power during his terms as secretary of state and president and, in his later years, his defense of the Union against those Southerners who advocated nullification."--BOOK JACKET.