Madison as Reformer: The Montesquieuan Roots of Madison on Slavery

Abstract

In the Vices of the Political System of the United States, Madison writes “Where slavery exists the republican Theory becomes still more fallacious.” Statements from seemingly different periods of his intellectual life—the Constitutional Convention and the Party Essays in the Virginia Gazette—show us that Madison consistently viewed slavery as one of the cruelest vices committed by the majority, though a vice that he never overcame himself. Alongside those who characterize the founding fathers as men “who built better than they knew,” I argue that Madison approached the problem of slavery on terms presented by Montesquieu, that is, from a perspective of moderation and prudential judgment meant to delicately touch the relationship between law and mores. Though Madison never forcefully opposes slavery, I suggest throughout his career he follows the most read political writer among the men of the Founding Era. Through a careful reconstrual of Madison’s letters, his speeches at the Constitutional Convention, and later essays and writings about gradual emancipation, I show that this Founding Father, influenced by Montesquieu’s advice about indirect legislation for combating vice in Spirit of the Laws, made a sustained attempt to end American slavery through indirect legislative devices and public writings meant to change American mores to countenance emancipation.