Hillsdale College is unique for its refusal to accept federal funding, and also for its statues. The only statue of Margaret Thatcher in North America, for example, is on Hillsdale’s campus. The college honors leaders such as Thatcher, Reagan, and Washington with statues on the school’s Liberty Walk.
Positioned on the Quad, in the Union, and near classroom buildings, the statues greet students on their way to class and provide the perfect selfie opportunity for students and visitors alike. Soon, students will be able to take a photo with Frederick Douglass, whose statue is scheduled to arrive next year. After Douglass, the next statue added to campus should be of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison.
It is no secret that Hillsdale cares about the Constitution, and therefore a statue of Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” would be a most logical addition.
At age 25, Madison was selected to attend the Virginia Constitutional Convention in Williamsburg. Eleven years later, he attended another Constitutional Convention — this time in Philadelphia — that would result in the Constitution of the United States.
Madison actively participated in the debates and the document’s drafting. He also took detailed notes during the meetings, leaving behind the only extensive record of the proceedings. To secure the document’s ratification, moreover, Madison joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in defending the Constitution in a series of essays that became known as the Federalist Papers. And later as a member of the House of Representatives, Madison wrote the the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Madison’s role in the creation and ratification of the Constitution alone provides a compelling reason for adding him as the next statue to campus. As one of the most important documents in history, the Constitution holds a special significance at Hillsdale, where students must learn and understand it. To graduate, each student is required to take a course on the American Founding and the Constitution. Hillsdale is one of only a handful of schools, including the United States military academies, to require students to study the Constitution for a full semester.
Hillsdale’s mission to teach the Constitution also reaches beyond campus. The college is known nationwide for its online classes, most notably Constitution 101. More than 600,000 people have registered for Hillsdale’s online courses, a catalog which now includes English, economics, and history.
Madison’s title as the “Father of the Constitution” is not the only reason to add his statue. He also possessed a characteristic not uncommon among Hillsdale students: He took his education seriously. In 1769 he attended the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, where he completed a four-year course in a little more than two years.
He devoted himself to his studies, sleeping an average of five hours a night. His studious habits and lack of sleep took their toll on his health, and after graduating he returned to his father’s plantation to recuperate. There, he studied law, despite never intending to become a lawyer. Like Madison, Hillsdale students devote their time to reading and writing papers. And at some point in their time here, students probably follow Madison’s schedule of sleeping an average of five hours per night.
In addition to his example as a dedicated student, Madison is an inspirational figure because he used his education and God-given talents to fight for liberty and the belief that men and women are capable of exercising self-government.
Statues stand as memorials to the people they portray, yet more important, they serve as reminders. They remind us of our history and those that have gone before us, and in the case of Hillsdale’s statues, they remind us that the task of defending liberty now belongs to us. On a college campus, what better reminder is there than the statue of a man who drafted the Constitution, defended it, wrote the Bill of Rights, and served as our fourth president?
It would be fitting for Madison to find a home on Hillsdale’s campus near the statue of Jefferson, bringing together the men responsible for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
