The Foundations Of American Politics - 1848 Words

Forrest McMurray PSC 3723 Foundations of American Politics Professor Peters â€Å"I certify that this paper is an original paper composed by me for this course. It has not been copied or closely paraphrased from any other source or set of sources, and has not been submitted as a whole, or in part, for any credit in any other course at OU or any other educational institution by me or anyone else. I have attributed all sources by proper citations and all sources have been included in my bibliography.† If Majorities Were Angels Reason Would Rule How should we understand James Madison’s political thought? Two books, Madison’s Metronome by Greg Weiner and If Men Were Angels by Richard Matthew, offer perspectives on the â€Å"real† Madisonian†¦show more content†¦The philosophies of Madison can be arguably split up into two different segments. First, Madison is portrayed as a founding father who ties strong commitments to the individual’s liberty and property rights and how they are fundamental to his idea of republican government. The opposite view of Madison’s philosophy is that he is a fundamental believer to the principle of majority rule as the basis of republican government. As mentioned above, this essay will focus on two authors, Richard Matthews and Gregory Weiner, as they provide detailed opinions for both views of Madisonian philosophy. Before determining the best route in understanding Madison’s political ideology, it is i mportant to point out the viewpoints of the two authors. Richard Matthews argues that Madison is a â€Å"constant liberal prince† who’s committed to the individual liberty and property rights; whereas Gregory Weiner argues the latter, that Madison stands firmly in the thought that the principles of majority rule is the foundation of his version of republican government. Although these two authors disagree on the majority of principles Madison spoke on, they stand united on one Madisonian idea, the idea that Madison wanted reason to always triumph passion. Throughout Madison’s lifetime of papers, essays, letters, and personal notes, one thing has