Student Resources

• Video: In Pursuit of Moderation, James Madison
• James Madison Portrait Images | Student Resource
• “Cato I,” Anti-Federalist Essay | Primary Source

Teacher/Facilitation Background:

This video and lesson were developed in connection with the In Pursuit project: https://www.inpursuit.org/lessons. The essay for James Madison was written by historian Jack Rakove. It can be read for additional teacher background on this topic, and it might be well-suited to classroom use for higher-level readers. The full essay is available here: https://www.inpursuit.org/lessons.

Rakove provides an overview of Madison’s role in drafting the Constitution and, later, in supporting the passage of the Bill of Rights. The central lesson that Rakove’s essay imparts is: “In securing the adoption of the Constitution, it was less important to design a perfect model of government than to ensure that the sovereign American people would agree that the entire process was rightly conducted.”

This is one perspective on the life and work of James Madison. The video highlights another aspect of Madison’s legacy: the foundation of Madison’s actions in the practice of civic virtue. The video foregrounds Madison’s use of moderation while exploring how virtues work together in practice. In addition to moderation, the lesson highlights respect for differing viewpoints, institutions, and the rule of law as an essential virtue that supported Madison’s approach to governance and constitutional design. The Bill of Rights Institute defines these virtues in the following way:

• Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes.
• Respect: Regard for and defending the equal rights and inherent dignity of all human beings, including oneself.
• Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern the right courses of action in specific situations.

Encourage your students to critically engage with the material in the video, the primary source, and other context you may be providing to come to their own conclusion and assessment.

Anticipate

• Portrait Activity: Distribute copies of James Madison’s portraits or project them onto the board.
• Remind students that “A portrait is not a photograph. It’s a likeness of the subject, but it is not the person exactly or perfectly. Artists depict the person they see or how the person would like to be seen. They attempt to highlight various characteristics in their work and have to make choices about what to include or exclude.”
• Ask students to consider the following:
  • What details did the artist include beyond the figure of Madison himself?
  • What do those details indicate about what we should know or think about who Madison was?
  • Think of these details like clues in a mystery. If you don’t know very much about Madison right now, what might these details suggest about the kinds of decisions Madison had to make?
• Encourage students to think creatively in their responses. If they need some prompting, consider suggesting the books, documents, and quill pen that surround Madison.
• As each student answers, be sure that they are connecting an idea that they have to a specific detail in the paintings (providing evidence).

Engage

• Before viewing:
  • You’ll notice how the video title names one civic virtue, but as we watch, we may see others come into play. Our job is to notice which virtues are actually shaping this leader’s decisions.
• Active viewing:
  • As the video plays, students take notes by making a list of the various people, experiences, and circumstances that played a role in Madison’s decision making.
• After the video:
  • First, check in with students about their understanding of the video’s content. Ask them:
    • What responsibility did Madison think he was given by the ratification debates?
    • Why did he think it was important to follow through on this responsibility?
    • What did he have to do to make that happen?
  • Then, invite students share out the lists of influences they took in their notes. As they share invite them to answer: How did this affect Madison’s character or what he thought was right?
  • As each student shares their answer, invite the class to suggest the virtue that this factor would have tested or affirmed.
• For example, acting in favor of the will of the majority of his constituents would reflect Madison acting with responsibility, while other influences may have required Madison to act with moderation or prudence.
• Which virtue do you think made the other virtues possible in this story?
• If James Madison had only practiced the primary virtue, what might have gone wrong?

Explore

• Distribute the primary source document to students. If desired, read the “Building Context” section with the class before students read the excerpts. Assign students to read the excerpts alone, with a partner, or as a class.
• After reading, answer the comprehension and analysis questions following the source text.
  • Option 1: Students answer these questions in writing and submit them to the teacher for assessment.
  • Option 2: Students answer these questions in writing, then share their answers with the class more broadly while the educator facilitates a discussion about any differences in student answers.

Assess/Reflect

• Say to students, “You have now encountered three different perspectives on James Madison: artistic portraits, a video about his time drafting the Constitution, and a primary source response from political opponents. Answer the following questions to combine and compare the ideas from each of these sources.”
  • Do the portraits and the video tell the same story about James Madison? Why might there be a difference between how he is portrayed in each?
  • What does that author of the primary source seem to introduce to these ideas? Does it make it easier or harder for you to feel like you have a good understanding of James Madison’s practice of civic virtue?
  • If you could have just one more source about James Madison to answer some of the questions that you still have, or to sort out the differences between how he appears in each of the three you have already seen, what would that source be? How might it be able to solve any mysteries about him for you?
  • Based on all three sources, what virtues did Madison practice in order to navigate disagreements and guide the Constitution’s ratification process?

Extend

• Have students make a list of the people, organizations, and belief systems that help them decide what to do in hard situations just like the one they made for Madison while watching the video.
  • Some examples to get students started might be friends, parents, teachers, coaches, or religious leaders.
  • For each person, organization, or set of ideas that a student lists, ask them to reflect on how each of those factors might direct a different type of response to challenging situations and which civic virtues they would need to practice balancing them all.