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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Birthday Boy

 Happy Birthday, James Madison! Or as the kids call him, J-Mad.*

*This isn't true.

 I guess I like Madison so much because I'm a big fan of the unjustly forgotten. In baseball we have guys like Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins and maybe Honus Wagner. Players that casual fans may not be familiar with, but who were among the best of their time. In science we have Robert Hooke, James Clark Maxwell and Ignaz Semmelweiss, all of whom changed the way we live.
 Madison falls into that category, as well. One of the most important founders, he was the principal architect of the Constitution, the driving force behind the Bill of Rights and (as evidenced by his contribution to the Federalist) one of the most astute political theorists of his time. Yet, he has zero cachet in the popular consciousness, which is too bad because he had as much influence as, say, Jefferson or Adams.
Anyway, Little Jemmy, this one goes out to you. Happy 249th. And many more.

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