James Madison Quotes
[The Senate's role was:] to correct the prejudices, check the intemperate passions, and regulate the functions of a popular assembly [The House of Representatives.]
At the time it was presumed that the Senate would not be popularly elected and it was not in the early years of America.
James Madison, 1751-1836, 4th President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Quoted in Bernard Bailyn, The Debate on the Constitution, The Library of America, 1993
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The United States government had for many years deposited all its funds in a single private bank, the Bank of the United States. President Jackson, without congressional authorization, ordered the Federal deposits to be distributed among state banks instead. The Senate passed a resolution demanding a copy of the "paper" he had read to the cabinet ordering the change of practice:
President Andrew Johnson had been impeached by the House of Representatives and was being tried in by the Senate. A majority of the Senators voted for conviction but the vote was 1 short of the two-thirds that were needed. Johnson remained in office. These were two of the charges against Johnson. A Century later Presidents commonly did both of these. George W. Bush made reappointment of Senate rejected nominees into an art form but after the Johnson trial, these were never to be considered reasons for impeachment again.
This letter was written shortly after the Constitution had been signed by the convention delegates. This difference between Adams and Jefferson would be at the heart of the first great partisan struggle in American history. Adams, as the second President, tried to increase and use the power of the Presidency. Jefferson opposed him, especially when Adams tried to run for a second term. The Adams-led Federalists were pitted against Jefferson’s Democratic Republicans in the first, and perhaps still the most bitter partisan struggle in American political history. The Jeffersonians accused Adams and the Federalists of trying to unravel the American Revolution and revert to a monarchy. The people not only sided with the Democratic Republicans, ousting Adams, but also turned out most of the Federalists. It was the end of the Federalist Party, and a new conservative party—without monarchial tendencies—the Whigs became the new opposition party.
Senators have throughout our history used their power of treaty ratification to encroach on the executive branch and participate in the actual negotiations of treaties. President’s like McKinley to avoid non ratification actually appointed 3 senators to his 5 man treaty negotiating team. The 2/3 super majority is a high hurdle for ratification and presidents have always tilted with the Senate on treaties.
Periodically in American history, there has been a struggle between the Executive Branch and the Senate for dominance. The Senate’s power is negative however. It can block things, but cannot directly make them happen. The President can do both.
James Madison Jr. was an American statesman, diplomat, expansionist, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights. He co-wrote The Federalist Papers, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as the fifth United States Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809.
