e great bulwarks of liberty." Madison believed that the ability to speak, write, and publish one's ideas was part of good citizenship. A "free press" is a bulwark of liberty because it is a "positive liberty" -- the liberty to take part in something. Having freedom of the press is a "bulwark" of the capacity to engage in the political process. Hence, Madison believed that having freedom of the press would not only protect people's rights, but would allow people to be good citizens. When Gouverneur Morris simplified Madison's wording, he did not intend to change the meaning of what Madison originally wrote. Thus, inherent in our first amendment is a call to practice the freedoms that promote good citizenship.
Before lunch we took a tour of the Mansion! See the picture of the outside of the house below (I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow) as well as the daytime view from the front of the house and the view from the balcony on one of the wings. In the distance, you can see the horse racing track the duPont family installed when they took over Montpelier in 1901.
In the afternoon, we heard a wonderful lecture by Sue Leeson, retired Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and Professor of Political Theory at Willamette University. She told us about a terrific website that presents the Constitutional Convention as a drama: teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro.html Throughout the lecture, Judge Leeson made the story of the Constitutional Convention exciting. I am definitely going to use more of Madison's actual primary source notes when I teach the Constitutional Convention next school year. Judge Leeson explained how Madison's original vision of the Constitution in the Virginia Plan was radically different from the Constitution on which the delegates finally agreed. For example, Madison's version of the Constitution would have called for the government to essentially be only a legislative branch, with the executive and judicial branches being far less important than the Congress. When Madison saw his hard work (he studied ancient constitutions and civilizations for over a year in preparation for the Convention) attacked from every side, he had to change his strategy and give up almost half of what he wanted. Out of 70 proposals, he only won 29. What is amazing is that he not only persevered, but that he eventually helped write the Federalist Papers to try to convince the states to adopt a Constitution which he believed was far inferior to the original vision of the national government he had designed in the Virginia Plan. He was both a "Drafter" of the original blueprint and a "Designer" of what the Constitution ended up becoming. Hence, he is known as the "Father of the Constitution."
In the afternoon, we had a discussion section where we examined Madison's "Vices of the Political System of the United States," and worked in groups to see if we could see where Madison had fixed or addressed these Vices in the Virginia Plan. Then after dinner we heard a fabulous lecture by Beth Taylor, who used to be the Education Coordinator at Montpelier and is now an independent scholar. She told us the story of Paul Jennings, one of Madison's most trusted slaves. She is almost done writing a book about the life of Paul Jennings and I can't wait to buy it when it's published. I sat rapt as she wove the amazing story of his life and showed us fascinating pictures on a PowerPoint. Paul Jennings's life was the story of the "pursuit to rise." Dolley Madison broke her promise to free him after James Madison's death. Daniel Webster paid the purchase price for his freedom. Jennings also played a role in leading 70 of George Washington's slaves to freedom. He also lived in an integrated community in Washington, DC.
Paul Jennings was with James Madison when he died. TODAY, June 28, is actually the 174th anniversary of James Madison's death. Today, when I toured the house, I was in the very room in which he died 174 years ago. He died in 1836 at the age of 85. If he had hung on for 6 more days and died on July 4th, he would have shared a Ju