ZadekpediaJames Madison is invoked throughout The Bob Zadek Show as both a historical actor at the Constitutional Convention and an authority on constitutional limits. The excerpts do not supply a biography; they show the uses to which speakers put him.
Enumerated powers and Federalist 45
Bob Zadek opened a discussion of the federal budget by contrasting two views of constitutional limits. He quoted Pete Stark, described as the most progressive representative in the House according to various left-wing organizations, as saying there are no constitutional limits to what the federal government can do. Against that he set Madison’s words in Federalist 45: the powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined, while those remaining to the states are numerous and indefinite. Zadek credited Madison with writing the first draft of the Constitution and called him the leading proponent of the Constitution in the Convention of 1787. A Libertarian Plan (2010)
In a later episode Zadek returned to the same passage, quoting it again in full and attributing it to “James Madison, Federalist 45.” A Libertarian Plan (2010)
The Constitutional Convention and Madison’s notes
Zadek told a guest that Madison was the man most instrumental in the framing — not the “Father of the Constitution” as most Americans believe, but certainly very influential. He described Madison reconstructing the convention debates each night from memory and notes, often verbatim, and keeping the book secret for many years so the country would not be affected by the debates; it was released much later in his life and became a crucial source document. Has America Become an “Elective Monarchy”? (2014)
In a discussion of George Mason, Don Boudreaux said Mason attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and was one of its most frequent speakers; Zadek replied that Mason was the second most frequent speaker, according to James Madison. Boudreaux added that Mason left, really at Madison’s wish, because they wanted unanimous approval of all present. Legalize Insider Trading (2009)
Impeachment and maladministration
Gene Healy described an exchange at the Constitutional Convention between George Mason and James Madison. Mason, citing the Warren Hastings trial that had just begun in England, proposed adding maladministration to treason and bribery; Madison objected that it was too broad a standard, and the convention ended with high crimes and misdemeanors. Healy cautioned that people make too much of the exchange, noting that nobody who ratified the Constitution saw Madison’s notes, which were not revealed for at least fifty years. He added that Madison himself, after ratification, said several times that certain kinds of maladministration are impeachable. Which Impeachment Movie Are You Watching? (2019)
The Bill of Rights
Zadek, marking the ratification of the Bill of Rights, said that many states agreed to ratify the Constitution only with its addition, and that Madison, in the first meeting of the House of Representatives, honored his promise and introduced the first ten amendments. Capitalism and Morality: Twin Pillars of the West (2017)
In a later episode Zadek gave a fuller account: Madison always felt the Bill of Rights was unnecessary because nothing in the Constitution empowered the government to take away rights; most states did not buy that, and there was an implicit understanding that they would ratify on condition the Bill of Rights would thereafter be adopted. Madison worried the Constitution was still fragile, with the anti-federalist movement still powerful, and proposed the Bill of Rights as Speaker of the House — that was his post in the first Congress — to take the wind out of the anti-federalists’ sails. Brian D. Kelly on the False Promise of Policing-for-Profit (2019)
Tyranny of the majority and legislative tyranny
Thomas Fleming said one of the crucial ideas Madison had when putting the idea of the Constitution together was that majority rule can be just as tyrannical as a dictator. Zadek asked about a quotation that a tyranny of many is no different than a tyranny by one; Fleming said he was pretty sure that was Madison. Fleming also said Madison was a strong believer that one of the really big dangers nobody was willing to recognize at his time, and even today, is legislative tyranny. George Washington Was Our Guest (2011)
The rule of law
Zadek closed an episode on complex legislation with a recorded clip attributed to James Madison: it will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood. Zadek repeated the closing question — how can that be a rule which is little known and less fixed? — and called it the wisdom of James Madison. Matt Zwolinski on Bleeding Heart Libertarianism (2014)
Across episodes
Madison recurs across the episodes as a citation rather than a subject. The 2010 treatment uses Federalist 45 to argue for enumerated powers and budget cuts; the 2019 impeachment discussion treats the same convention record — Madison’s notes — as evidence about what the ratifiers could and could not have known, with Gene Healy arguing that Madison’s later statements included some maladministration as impeachable. The Bill of Rights is treated in 2017 as Madison honoring a promise and in 2019 with the added detail that he thought it unnecessary and proposed it to undercut the anti-federalists.