Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 1: Constitution as Social Contract
James Madison proposed conventions made up of delegates elected by the people to approve the Constitution. This popular approval made the document a social contract.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Federalist 10: Part 4
Madison's views on the benefits of a large, diverse republic are discussed in the tenth of The Federalist Papers.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Constitution: Not Too Complicated
James Madison responds to the criticism that the Constitution was too complicated to be effective.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: James Madison Part 1: Introduction
James Madison has been described as the Father of the Constitution. Today we begin our series on Madison, our nation's fourth president. [1:6]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Who Was James Madison?
James Madison, fourth president of the United States, wasn't too sure about what he wanted to do after college. Learn more on today's episode. [59]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Youngest Delegate
James Madison was the youngest delegate to the Continental Congress. His service in the Virginia state assembly had formed his beliefs about the role of government. [1:4]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Influential James Madison
How did a small man with a weak voice become so influential at the Philadelphia Convention? [59]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Influential Framer
James Madison helped lead the effort to win ratification of the Constitution and drafted the Bill of Rights. [1 min.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison's Political Career
James Madison accomplished a lot during his lifetime. Writing the Bill of Rights was just a beginning. [1:4]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Father of the Constitution
He didn't like being called Father of the Constitution, but James Madison earned the nickname. How did he stand out during the development of the Constitution? [57]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Most Active Delegate
James Madison was extremely active at the Philadelphia Convention, giving more than 160 speeches and serving as the convention's unofficial secretary. [55 mins.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Federalist 10
Federalist 10 is considered to be a masterpiece of political thought by James Madison; find out more on today's episode. [1 min. 13 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Federalist 51
A government with separation of powers is well addressed in Federalist 51. James Madison said that if men were angels, then no government would be needed. But men are not angels, are they? [1 min. 7 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ambition Must Be Made to Counteract Ambition
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition, wrote James Madison. The Constitution provides the checks and balances to accomplish this. [56 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison as an Advocate of Religious Freedom
Virginia once had an official religion; James Madison thought that this was not a good idea. [1 min. 4 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Laws for the Human Mind
James Madison fought for religious liberties in Virginia, calling laws mandating state religion "laws for the human mind." [1 min.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Father of the Bill of Rights
James Madison was truly the father of the Bill of Rights. He worked almost single-handedly to draft and gain support for the document in the summer of 1789. [1 min. 18 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Dangers of Faction
James Madison was no fan of partisanship. He feared that factions would develop based on differences in political views. [1 min. 10 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison Changes His Mind About Factions
Was James Madison a flip-flopper? Well, he changed his mind about the value of political parties. [1 min. 2 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Critics Accuse Madison of Hypocrisy
Elections are a legitimate way of avoiding bad governance, said James Madison, and so he eventually came around to supporting political parties. Why did he change his mind? [1 min. 10 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Growing Sectionalism
James Madison to America: Overcome your partisan animosities and emulate the Framers' spirit of compromise. [1 min.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Legacy of James Madison
We conclude this series on James Madison and the Constitution with an examination of the lessons of the Philadelphia Convention. Madison was afraid that his legacy would disappear taking with it the spirit of compromise. [1 min. 12 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison's Bill of Rights
Today we conclude our series on the organization of the U.S. government with a discussion of the Bill of Rights. James Madison developed the draft of the Bill of Rights based on amendments suggested by the state governments. [1 min. 18...
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: James Madison
James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution. Do you know why? Madison was a delegate from Virginia in the development of the Constitution. [1 min. 23 secs.]