“Perpetuate the Union, and Redeem the Honor of the Republican Name”: Monarchy, Empire, and James Madison’s Negative on State Laws
Recovering why Madison believed his proposed “negative” over state laws could translate the unifying force of monarchy into a republican form offers a corrective to flattened understandings of Madisonian nationalism. His famous arguments about faction and minority rights emerged from a broader project focused on reconciling national power, federal union, and popular government.