Look forward to reading Professor Lubunski's book - and until then will
not trouble the list further over my having (mis?)read the second half of
a short blurb sentence somewhat differently than may have been intended.
   Am especially intrigued with the idea, posed by Professor Lubunski, of
Madison's conversion to the idea that a bill of rights might be
beneficial - a first step perhaps in his 1790s transit from the
Federalist Papers arguments to the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 ?
jk

> Dear Jon and List Members:
>
> (Editorial note:  I did not send my original note directly to the list; it
> was forwarded by a recipient.  But I appreciate the chance to discuss
> these
> issues).
>
> In response to Jon Kukla's statement, I meant exactly what I said.
> Patrick
> Henry did try to prevent Madison's election to the First Congress because
> he (Henry) believed that any amendments Madison proposed -- including
> amendments protecting individual rights -- would be worse than
> useless.  Henry feared that once they were approved, the momentum for more
> radical amendments to reverse the transfer of power to the new federal
> government would dissipate.  Henry also wanted to avenge wounded feelings
> of honor after having lost to Madison at the Virginia ratifying
> convention.
>
> Even after the Bill of Rights was finally approved by Congress and was
> before the states, Henry spoke disparagingly of them and thought they
> would
> not provide any protection against the new government.
>
> Jon is certainly correct that the pressure that Anti-Federalist brought to
> bear helped convince Madison and other Federalists to support a bill of
> rights.  Anti-Federalists deserve credit for this, and some scholars have
> eloquently identified their contribution in this regard.
>
> But I argue in the book that Madison eventually came to genuinely support
> adding such amendments to the Constitution if for no other reason than
> they
> were demanded by the people.  He also had come to the conclusion that such
> amendments could be beneficial.
>
> Much of my book is devoted to Patrick Henry, and he has a rough time of
> it.  I am critical of his continued efforts to prevent the approval of the
> Bill of Rights by Congress and his behind-the-scenes effort to prevent
> ratification in Virginia.
>
> One other thing...Paul Finkelman is being modest when offering the
> citation
> for his article in the Supreme Court Review.  It is an excellent
> discussion
> of the issues, and I cite it with admiration in my book.
>
> I look forward to reading more comments about this.
>
> Richard Labunski
>
>
>
> At 11:56 AM 5/10/2006, you wrote:
>>Re the statement (quoted from the post below) that "Henry did everything
>>he could to keep Madison out of the First Congress so he could not
>> propose
>>the Bill of Rights."  I trust the book is a bit more clearly written.
>>   Far from attempting to keep Madison out of congress "SO he could not
>>propose the Bill of Rights," (emphasis added) Henry and his
>>anti-Federalist allies, first, denied Madison a seat in the Senate in
>>favor of their own Richard Henry Lee and William Grayson (senators were
>>elected by the state legislatures). Then campaigned hard against Madison
>>for the House of Representatives until Madison had to promise to push
>>for a bill of rights in order to win election to the house.
>>   Presumably the implication to the effect that Henry and his allies
>>sought to keep Madison out of Congress _in order to prevent him from
>>proposing a bill of rights_ is a slip of the pen in the blurb not the
>>book.
>>
>>
>>Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
>>Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
>>1250 Red Hill Road
>>Brookneal, Virginia 24528
>>www.redhill.org
>>
>> >
>> >
>> > ________________________________
>> >
>> > From: Richard Labunski [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> > Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 9:30
>> > Subject: James Madison and the Bill of Rights
>> >
>> >
>> > Dear Colleague:
>> >
>> > I am a professor at the University of Kentucky and the author of the
>> new
>> > book, "James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights."  It
>> will
>> > be published in early June by Oxford University Press in its "Pivotal
>> > Moments in American History" series.  (The series co-editors are James
>> > McPherson and David Hackett Fischer).
>> >
>> > The book tells the incredible story of how the exceedingly shy Madison
>> > overcame one obstacle after another to help give the nation the
>> > Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Few people, including those
>> > otherwise interested in the founding period, know how close we came to
>> > not having the Bill of Rights then or perhaps ever.
>> >
>> > The book relies heavily on primary sources and will appeal to general
>> > audiences as well as historians and other scholars.  It has 35
>> > illustrations including letters, photos, portraits, legislative
>> > documents, and newspaper commentaries related to the founding and
>> > ratification era.
>> >
>> > You can learn more about the book, read an excerpt, advance praise and
>> > reviews, and see some of the illustrations here:
>> > <www.richardlabunski.com <http://www.richardlabunski.com/> >.
>> >
>> > There is much in the book about Virginia political history, including
>> > discussion of the General Assembly, the Virginia ratifying convention,
>> > and the role that the state's prominent Anti-Federalists played in the
>> > ratification debate.  The political battle between Madison and the
>> > charismatic Patrick Henry is especially interesting and compelling.
>> > Henry did everything he could to keep Madison out of the First
>> Congress
>> > so he could not propose the Bill of Rights.
>> >
>> > Amazon is currently offering a pre-publication discount of 37 percent.
>> > You can order it through the Amazon link at my Web site.
>> >
>> > Thank you.
>> >
>> > Richard Labunski
>> >
>> > (Would you also please forward this e-mail to someone who may be
>> > interested in the book? Thanks.)
>> >
>> >
>> > Richard Labunski
>> > School of Journalism and Telecommunications
>> > University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0042
>> > Office:  (859) 257-5719
>> > Home fax:  (859) 873-3557
>> > Author of: James Madison and the Struggle
>> > for the Bill of Rights http://richardlabunski.com
>> > <http://richardlabunski.com/>
>> > Internship Web site http://jatinternships.uky.edu
>> > <http://jatinternships.uky.edu/>
>> >
>> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
>> instructions
>> > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>> >
>> >
>>
>>To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
>>at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
>
> Richard Labunski
> School of Journalism and Telecommunications
> University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0042
> Office:  (859) 257-5719
> Home fax:  (859) 873-3557
> Author of: James Madison and the Struggle
> for the Bill of Rights http://richardlabunski.com
> Internship Web site http://jatinternships.uky.edu
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
>


Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
1250 Red Hill Road
Brookneal, Virginia 24528
www.redhill.org
Phone 434-376-2044 or 800-514-7463

Fax 434-376-2647

- M. Lynn Davis, Office Manager
- Karen Gorham-Smith, Associate Curator
- Edith Poindexter, Curator

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html