James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Liberty & Learning - Index

liberty & learning
After a brief respite there, Madison completed his journey to Princeton. The
entire academic portion of the College of New Jersey was confined to a single
building, Nassau Hall. Built in 1756 and named for William III (of the House
of Orange-Nassau), the three-story structure housed the school’s classrooms, the
campus library, dining facilities, and student dormitories. It was an intentionally
austere environment, one that accorded the students few luxuries, temptations,
or diversions. Crowded three to a room, Madison immediately immersed himself
with his studies, since he had arrived at mid term and was seriously behind his
classmates. A few weeks later, he wrote to the Reverend Thomas Martin.
I am perfectly pleased with my present situation; and the prospect before me
of three years confinement, however terrible it may sound, has nothing in it, but
what will be greatly alleviated by the advantages I hope to derive from it. 24
During Madison’s matriculation, the College of New Jersey was filled with a
youthful zeal and enthusiasm for the ever-growing patriot cause. The student
body was collectively angry over the many perceived British provocations that
had been most recently exemplified by the imposition of the Townshend Duties
and the writs of assistance (which allowed warrantless searches for contraband
and smuggled goods). In open protest of British imperial policy, many of the students
periodically wore “American clothe” to show their support of non-importation
agreements. The young James Madison joined the newly formed Whig
Society—a social debating club that professed allegiance to time-honored, sacred
British principles that were routinely violated by the current King and Parliament.
While at the College, Madison also became friends with William Bradford,
Aaron Burr, and Philip Freneau, all of whom were destined to play significant
roles in the birth and evolution of the American republic.
By all accounts, Madison was a serious scholar at Princeton. Here he refined
the important skills required for serious research and developed the ability to
use precise logic and engage in persuasive argument. As Merrill Peterson accurately
noted, Princeton prided itself on its ability to “cultivate reason and critical
inquiry” in its students. 25
For Madison, college life was liberating, and he fully embraced the important
ideals of the Enlightenment, which emphasized human reason, Newtonian science,
and rational thought. Through extensive reading and study, Madison began
to develop his own burgeoning political philosophy. It was grounded on the
principle that a government’s primary role was to provide societal stability while
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