ratified the Constitution (234, quotation marks). In affirming that the “states” Madison’s “states” ratified the constitution in the sense according to which = (of the states), “states” “people” Madison is in effect rendering his statements in the Resolutions at least partially synonymous with his statements emphasizing the importance of popular ratification around the time of the Constitutional Convention. By introducing even more complexity and nuance into his already subtle handling of the riddle of the framers in and providing the most charitable Federalist 39, reading possible of his earlier Resolutions, Madison thus attempts to recover his balance on the tightrope. In addition to this careful repositioning, in the Report Madison also elaborates upon the concept of people of the and its role in his thought in a way that further indicates its “the states” coherence and importance. Shifting his focus clearly to side of this concept and “the people” hearkening back to his early arguments, Madison argues that resort can be “nationalist” “where had to no tribunal superior to the authority of the parties, the parties themselves must be the rightful judges, in the last further that adds to the stability and dignity, as resort….” He says “It well as to the authority, of the Constitution, that it rests on this legitimate and solid foundation” of consent by the sovereign people of the states (Myers 1981, 234). The parties to the constitutional compact must be in the fourth sense of the term, as people of only “the states” “the the in order to make sense of assertion that there is no tribunal superior to states,” Madison’s their authority. statement that the Constitution Madison’s enjoys “stability,” “dignity,” and solidity as a result of this foundational compact also echoes his “authority,” legitimacy, criticism of the Articles of Confederation in the a criticism largely based on the “Vices,” character of the Articles as a compact between states in the first two or three senses of the term to the exclusion of the fourth.
“states” ratified the Constitution (234, Madison’s quotation marks). In affirming that the “states” ratified the constitution in the sense according to which “states” = “people” (of the states), Madison is in effect rendering his statements in the Resolutions at least partially synonymous with his statements emphasizing the importance of popular ratification around the time of the Constitutional Convention. By introducing even more complexity and nuance into his already subtle handling of the riddle of the framers in Federalist 39, and providing the most charitable reading possible of his earlier Resolutions, Madison thus attempts to recover his balance on the tightrope. In addition to this careful repositioning, in the Report Madison also elaborates upon the concept of “the people of the states” and its role in his thought in a way that further indicates its coherence and importance. Shifting his focus clearly to “the people” side of this concept and hearkening back to his early “nationalist” arguments, Madison argues that “where resort can be had to no tribunal superior to the authority of the parties, the parties themselves must be the rightful judges, in the last resort….” He says further that “It adds to the stability and dignity, as well as to the authority, of the Constitution, that it rests on this legitimate and solid foundation” of consent by the sovereign people of the states (Myers 1981, 234). The parties to the constitutional compact must be “the states” only in the fourth sense of the term, as “the people of the states,” in order to make sense of Madison’s assertion that there is no tribunal superior to their authority. Madison’s statement that the Constitution enjoys “stability,” “dignity,” “authority,” legitimacy, and solidity as a result of this foundational compact also echoes his criticism of the Articles of Confederation in the “Vices,” a criticism largely based on the character of the Articles as a compact between states in the first two or three senses of the term to the exclusion of the fourth.