Comparing James Madison's Letter To The Constitution

Twelve years after declaring independence, the American people were struggling to articulate their vision for government. They were acutely aware of the shortcomings of a weak central government under the Articles of Confederation, yet they still felt strongly that the individual states maintain their power. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787, with a goal of stabilizing the budding nation by according more authority to a central government than before. These resolutions would ultimately become a new Constitution. It was in January 1788, after five states had ratified but eight were still skeptical, that Madison penned a letter to the Independent Journal, wherein he detailed his rationale for the larger federal government.
He envisioned a system where the powers of the federal government were “few and defined,” and acting mostly upon external affairs and foreign relations. Thus, the federal government would be most active in times of war; however, if it did its job well and kept war to a minimum, “the less frequent [would] be those scenes of danger” where it would have greater authority. The states, on the other hand, would possess more power during peacetime, as they would be more concerned with “numerous and indefinite” tasks, among them the “ordinary course of affairs concern[ing] the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.” Again reflecting John Locke, Madison reminded the people that the new government was indeed formed around the best interests of the people. Madison went on to describe the two new powers accorded to the federal government, namely, the powers to regulate commerce and impose taxes. The former, he asserted, everyone was in agreement on; the latter was also necessary. In order to achieve its purpose of controlling foreign affairs, taxation would be required. Madison’s careful treatment of taxation was likely an attempt to encourage Massachusetts, which was very skeptical of taxes, to ratify the