Posts

Showing posts from August, 2016
Image
2016:  James Madison and the Margins In September 1787 while waiting for the arrival of others, James Madison began drafting a blueprint which would eventually be known as the Virginia Plan.  The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislative branch and set the stage for creating the idea of representation according to population.  Madison was no stranger to these questions haven already given long study to historical forms of government, much of it in solitude at his home in Montpelier, VA. While not a behavioral scientist, James Madison knew his man; or better said he knew the tendencies of men and women by studying the various forms of governance and the corresponding behaviors.  His review of past governance failures challenged him to devise and propose a new system which would promote the best outcomes while minimizing the worst outcomes.  His ability to arrive at his personal conclusions and thereafter propose and have them accepted are central elements to what make