Madison and the French Enlightenment: The Authority of Public Opinion

Abstract

N 1791-1792 James Madison published at least nineteen unsigned articles in Philip Freneau's National Gazette, a Philadelphia newspaper that he and Thomas Jefferson had recently helped to establish in the nation's temporary capital city. The objective of the paper to circulate republican ideas on the issues of the day and to counteract the effects of the systematically pro-administration newspaper, the Gazette of the United States. One of Madison's Party Press Essays, of Governments, addresses the issue of how to categorize the different forms of government and explicitly criticizes the regime typology invented by Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu.1 After bestowing circumscribed praise on Montesquieu's contributions to the science of politics, Madison swiftly turned his pen against the regime classification the French philosopher set forth in the Spirit of the Laws. Despite the glimpse of truth Montesquieu experienced, he was in politics not a Newton or a Locke, who established immortal systems in matter and in mind. Moreover, Madison asserted, the accuracy of Montesquieu's treatment of governmental types can never be defended against the criticisms which it has encountered.2 Montesquieu's influence on Madison and the American founders, particularly evident in the theory of separation of powers that informs the United States Constitution, is well noted by scholars.3 Madison's cri-