James H. Read, Ph.D., is a political science professor at the College of Saint Benedict at Saint John’s University in Minnesota and the author of “Majority Rule versus Consensus: The Political Thought of John C. Calhoun” (University Press of Kansas, 2009), “Power versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson” (University of Virginia Press, 2000) and “Doorstep Democracy: Face to Face Politics in the Heartland” (University of Minnesota Press, 2008).
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James Madison
James Madison, the chief author of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, was the foremost champion of the freedoms of religion, speech, and the press in the Founding Era.
Memorial and Remonstrance
James Madison’s “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments” argued for complete religious liberty and against government support of religion in any form.
Virginia Report of 1800
James Madison’s Report of 1800 argued for full freedom of speech and press as indispensable checks on officeholders under a republican form of government.