James Madison and the framing of the bill of rights: Reality and rhetoric in the new constitutionalism

James Madison's leadership in framing of the Bill of Rights exemplifies the role of democratic statesmanship. Although never waivering in his principled opposition to a bill of rights, Madison understood the political expediency of rights, Madison understood the political expediency of proposing amendments to forestall more radical revisions to the Constitution. His task was to appease public opinion without doing injury to the principled foundation of the Constitution; in this task he only partially succeeded.