The James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, often called simply the Madison Program, is a scholarly institute within the Department of Politics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

that is "dedicated to exploring enduring questions of

American constitutional law The constitutional law of the United States is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution. The subject concerns the scope of power of the United States federal government compared to the indi ...

and Western

political thought Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

." The Madison Program was founded in 2000 and is directed by

Robert P. George Robert Peter George (born July 10, 1955) is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual who serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and ...

, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University.

History

The Madison Program was founded in the summer of 2000 via a charter with the Department of Politics at

. Early funders included

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

, the

John M. Olin Foundation The John M. Olin Foundation was a conservative American grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most other foundations, it was charge ...

, and the

Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation (charity), foundation based in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports Conservatism in the United States, cons ...

. Early speakers included liberal scholars such as

James E. Fleming James E. Fleming is an American legal scholar who serves as the Paul J. Liacos Professor of Law at the Boston University School of Law. He is a scholar in standard constitutional theory and constitutional interpretation, with special attention to ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, Stanley N. Katz of

and more conservative ones, including

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...

Christopher DeMuth Christopher C. DeMuth (born August 5, 1946) is an American lawyer and a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute. He was the president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank, from 1986 to 2008.American Enterprise ...

, then-president of the American Enterprise Institute, Lynne Cheney, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in the first

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

administration, and William Kristol, then-editor of The Weekly Standard. The Program celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010 with a lecture from columnist George Will. Summer 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Program.

Academic programs

Politics departmental track

The Program sponsors the track in "American Ideas and Institutions" for undergraduates concentrating in Politics at Princeton. The track includes courses from

American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...

political theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

, and

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

to allow students to "further and demonstrate their understandings of the three branches of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and the values, ideas, and theories that underlie them and are animated by their workings."

Undergraduate Fellows Forum

The Program is host to the Undergraduate Fellows Forum, where Princeton undergraduates engage with fellow students interested in American constitutionalism and American political institutions. Undergraduate Fellows have founded such programs at Princeton as a podcast called "Woke Wednesdays" and the third undergraduate chapter of the Federalist Society.

James Madison Society

The Madison Program is host to several Visiting and Postdoctoral Fellows at Princeton every year and past Visiting Fellows become part of the

James Madison Society James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. The members of the Society are interested in intellectual dialogue across partisan lines and span the ideological spectrum.

Public initiatives

Statements

"Truth Seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression"

On March 14, 2017,

and Cornel West issued a joint statement via the Madison Program to encourage citizens to engage with people of opposing views. The statement was opened to signatories from the public; as of March 2019, there were more than 4,000 signatories.

"Think for Yourself"

On August 29, 2017, the Madison Program issued a joint statement entitled "Some Thoughts and Advice for Our Students and All Students" in which Princeton,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and Yale University professors encouraged students entering college to avoid becoming "trapped in an echo chamber" by "taking the trouble to learn and honestly consider the strongest arguments to be advanced on both or all sides of questions—including arguments for positions that others revile and want to stigmatize and against positions others seek to immunize from critical scrutiny."

Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship

In 2019, the James Madison Program established it
Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship
The Initiative is directed by Allen C. Guelzo, and seeks to "discern, understand and critique the substance and style of statesmanship in modern democratic societies; to encourage the study of statesmanship in the Anglo-American political tradition, as it was inherited from the Greek and Roman classical past, through the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, the Civil War and the World Wars, to the present; and to present the findings of leading scholars of this statesmanship in public forums which will assist the general public in understanding and supporting examples of statesmanlike behavior in modern political environments." The Initiative hosts public events, seminars, and a summer program for undergraduate students on the
Theory and Practice of Statesmanship
"

Initiative on Freedom of Thought, inquiry, and Expression

In 2022, the James Madison Program established it
Initiative on Freedom of Thought, Inquiry, and Expression
(known colloquially as the "Free Speech Initiative"). The Initiative is directed by

professor
Keith E. Whittington
and

Bernard Haykel Bernard Haykel (born 1968) is professor of Near Eastern Studies and the director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. He has been described as "the foremos ...

. The Free Speech Initiative was established to "promote, explain, and defend free speech and academic freedom. Through events, seminars, and other programming, the James Madison Free Speech Initiative creates opportunities for the Princeton community—faculty, students, staff, and the public—to learn how and why freedom of thought and inquiry is essential to the health of universities and free societies."

Reception

According to Jane Mayer, writing in '' The Chronicle of Higher Education'', the Madison Program was founded with funds from the conservative

. Director Robert P. George claims the Program is not conservative, but rather "seeks to bring competing points of view together to lift the intellectual debate on campus." The Program has been used as a template for similar institutions at Georgetown, New York University, and Williams College. It has been praised for its ability to enable cooperation between Catholic and Evangelical Christians.Faith in the halls of power: how evangelicals joined the American elite, D. Michael Lindsay, Oxford University Press US, 2007, p. 86

References

External links

* {{Coord, 40, 20, 56.3, N, 74, 38, 58.2, W, FR_type:landmark, display=title Princeton University 2000 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 2000 Organizations established in 2000 John M. Olin Foundation