Question

How does James Madison feel about a federal government?

Answer 1

Hint:
i) The United States Federal Government is the national government of the USA, a federal republic of 50 countries, a federal district, five main self-ruling territories and several properties of the island in North America.
ii) James Madison was one of the constitutional authors so he supported the constitutionally created Federal Government.

Complete answer:
James Madison -
He served as the fourth President of the United States between 1809 and 1817, and was American statesman, diplomat, expandist, philosopher and founding father.
The fourth President of the United States (1809-1817), James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and John Jay made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing Federalist Papers. It was called the "Father of the Constitution" in the later years.

James Madison feels about a federal government –
The United States was governed before the Constitution by the Confederation articles, only a weak alliance of the thirteen states. There was only one congress in this alliance and the congress was organised so that every state had one vote. And only a very few powers were given to this Congress; the majority of powers were the decision of state governments to take. The result was a government of the United States, which did not rule much and was not united.

Enter the Constitution: a plan to create for the whole country a stronger government. However, many people were not in favor of this, so a major debate took place across the country, especially in some states like New York.

The state finally approved the Federal Constitution, which came into force in 1789. It was the loudest and most effective criticism of the lack of a Bill of Rights. Although he believed that the constitution as it stands fully protected individual rights, Madison recognised that it was politically imperative to draught a Bill of Rights. His "Notes for Congress Speech" of June 8, 1789, highlights the arguments he made as leader of the First Federal Congress in pushing 12 Constitutional amendments in the first year of Congress. The States ratified and enshrined ten of these amendments as the Bill of Rights.

The federalists were keen to have a strong administration and powerful leadership, while anti-federalists wanted a weaker central government. The Federalists didn't want a right bill — they thought it was enough. The counter-federalists called for a letter of law.

Note: In defence of the New Plan, Madison was a stalwart. Madison was a lead author of what became known as the federalist, a frequently-printed series of newspaper articles that joined him in writing, together with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, a series of essays that could help turn people's minds on ratification.

Madison could be pleased with the federal government's founding role. He could never, however, have his notes of discussions published in the Constitutional Convention before his death.