New book argues James Madison deserves a national memorial

Dale Dungan Pullen’s posthumous book says James Madison — the chief architect of the Constitution — still lacks the national recognition he earned. The book, now available on Amazon, uses Madison’s role in drafting, ratifying and defending the Constitution to make the case for a memorial in Washington, D.C.

Why it matters: - Dale Dungan Pullen’s book argues that James Madison, the Constitution’s chief architect, has not received the national recognition his role deserves. - The book frames Madison as central to the creation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the early fight to define the new republic. - Pullen presents the lack of a Madison memorial in Washington, D.C., as a gap in how the nation remembers its founding.

What happened: - The posthumously published book, The 17th of September 1787 Constitution Day, is now available on Amazon. - The book focuses on James Madison’s role before, during and after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. - Madison arrived in Philadelphia two weeks before the Federal Convention began in May 1787 and came prepared with notes on failed governments. - Madison met with Pennsylvania delegates to plan a debate framework that helped shape the Virginia Plan, introduced by Edmund Randolph on May 29. - Madison was 36 when the convention began.

The details: - Madison took notes on nearly every session of the convention, creating a record historians still use as a primary account of what was said and by whom. - Madison opposed equal state representation in the Senate and called the result a “departure from justice.” - Madison remained the convention’s most consistent advocate for a strong national government, arguing for that position in committee, on the floor and later in print. - Alexander Hamilton recruited Madison and John Jay to defend the Constitution in the New York press after the convention. - Madison then returned to Virginia to fight for ratification in his home state. - Virginia’s June 1788 ratifying convention pitted Madison against Patrick Henry in a debate that historians still study. - Madison’s voice was often too weak to carry across the room, but he still out-argued and out-organized Henry. - Virginia ratified the Constitution by a vote of 89 to 79. - Madison later wrote the amendments that became the Bill of Rights and guided them through the first House of Representatives. - Madison also led Virginia in approving the Bill of Rights. - Washington has no memorial to James Madison. - A Library of Congress building bears Madison’s name, but Pullen calls that “hardly a memorial” for “the nation's greatest national legislator.” - The book’s introduction opens with Madison’s quote: “Only a well-instructed people can be a permanently free people.” - The book covers the fight over slavery, the compromises that nearly broke the convention, and the ratification battles in Virginia and New York. - The book is presented as an accessible history of the Constitution for general readers.

Between the lines: - The book is doing more than recapping Madison’s biography. It is making a civic argument that national memory has elevated some founders while overlooking the man most closely tied to the Constitution’s design. - By tying Madison’s legacy to a memorial in Washington, D.C., Pullen turns a history book into a public case for commemoration. - The focus on slavery, compromise and ratification suggests the book aims to show that the Constitution was not inevitable or tidy. It was contested and politically fragile.

What's next: - The book is available now in paperback, hardcover and Kindle editions. - Readers can find it on Amazon through the book listing. - Pullen’s broader goal appears to be encouraging Americans to reconsider Madison’s place in the founding story and support a memorial in his honor.

The bottom line: - Pullen’s book argues that James Madison built the Constitution — and deserves a place in the nation’s public memory to match.