The 1619 Project makes similar claims to Montpelier, taking them even further, to taint capitalism itself. They do not note, as Phillip Magness does in “The 1619 Project: A Critique,” that exports were a small part of gross domestic product during that time and cotton output was 5%-6% of the antebellum economy. exports produced in 1860 were a result of slave labor. Montpelier contends that the “economy of slavery permeated every state” and 80% of all U.S. John Adams’ description reads that he never owned slaves, but “some of his legal clients did.” It does not detail that George Washington, upon Martha’s death, freed those he could through his will. This is woefully insufficient for so remarkable a man and document.Īn exhibit panel in the cellars shows pictures of the first 18 presidents with descriptions of their relationships to slavery, sometimes affirming that a given president never freed his slaves. Some of these accomplishments are discussed during a brief video in the visitors center and a portion of the house tour, but no exhibits focus on Madison. These precautions form so much of how America operates today that we don’t even think about them-because Madison thought about them for us. He offered his solution: a system of checks and balances, separation of powers, and federalism. Prior to the convention, he poured over writings and examples of ancient and modern confederacies, trying to figure out a way to make America work as a republic. Madison was the man with the Virginia Plan. Madison was the primary author of the Bill of Rights and penned many of “The Federalist Papers.” At the age of 36, he was perhaps the most essential delegate at the Constitutional Convention (others will argue for George Washington or James Wilson). We use this label in passing (as do the tour guides at Montpelier), but often do not reflect on what it means. James Madison was the Father of the Constitution. It is primarily (though not exclusively) what is missing, rather than what is there, that I find troublesome. I piled fact upon fact, relying on research and primary sources and letting much of my report speak for itself. A great deal of my writing has been descriptive, detailing the exhibits at Montpelier and evidencing whose influence has been impactful. In the past few months, I have written much about James Madison’s Montpelier, our fourth president’s home and now museum.
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