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James Madison: Constitutional Statesman and Practical Politician with Jay Cost | BRI Scholar Talks

What unique contributions did the various Founders make to liberty and constitutional self-governance? BRI’s new “American Founders” Scholar Talk Series seeks to answer this and other questions. In this episode, Jay Cost, Gerald R. Ford nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins BRI Fellow Tony Williams. Together they discuss Founder James Madison and his indispensability to the Constitutional Convention and the establishment of republican principles in America. How did Madison’s contributions as a statesman and politician lead to the promotion of liberty and self-governance?

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Reading James Madison’s Speech Proposing a Bill of Rights | A Primary Source Close Read w/ BRI

27 Min

The Bill of Rights has become one of the foundational documents of the United States, but why was it not immediately enacted alongside the Constitution? In this Primary Close Read video, Kirk Higgins and Tony Williams examine James Madison’s proposal to Congress expressing the importance of including a Bill of Rights. How did the Bill of Rights contribute to preserving the civil liberties of the American people? What civil virtues did Madison use to make his argument to Congress?