Nearly 100 people visited SAS Hall Wednesday evening to listen to S. Adam Seagrave, a professor at Northern Illinois University, argue against the idea that the founding fathers intended the constitution to be fully complete by discussing James Madison’s vision for the American Federal Union.
The discussion centered on Madison’s role in the formation of the United States, as well Madison’s various speeches and writings.
Madison’s views on slavery eventually brought the discussion to the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the country.
Seagrave said, although many people believe the original constitution was fully complete in the eyes of the founding fathers, the framers always had the intention to abolish slavery.
“The Thirteenth Amendment could be viewed as a completion of the original constitution rather than a deviation,” Seagrave said.
Seagrave said the constitution was further improved with the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, as the Fourteenth Amendment aimed to complete Madison’s vision for the Union by addressing citizenship rights and equal protection under national laws.
Madison believed that federalism was fundamentally about individual liberties, and in the end, Madison sought to achieve a perfect form of federalism through a balance between state and national power, Seagrave said.
Madison is described as a federalist because of his advocacy for stronger national government.
According to Seagrave, Madison had inconsistent methods for advocating his beliefs, which could have been indicative of his personal opinions on how to make the most perfectly balanced federal government.
For example, Madison changed from advocating for a national veto to advocating for a state veto just 10 years later.
Peter Daniel, a sophomore studying agricultural business management, said he thought the lecture was interesting because of how Madison’s opinions about federalism influenced the modern government of the U.S., as there is always controversy about what political power should be given to state and national government.
“Even though all of Madison’s views didn’t make it through to print, we still have a great government,” Daniel said.