If We Can Keep It: Founding the Madison Center

In September 1787, as the Constitutional Convention concluded in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin whether the delegates had given the country a republic or a monarchy. According to the account recorded by convention delegate James McHenry, Franklin answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

The force of that answer lies in its condition. A republic places an extraordinary responsibility on the people who inherit it. Its preservation requires citizens who understand the freedom they possess and accept some responsibility for its future. Every generation must decide what it will do with that inheritance.

I am founding the Madison Center for American Leadership because I believe that responsibility belongs to us, and that capable people should have a clearer path toward fulfilling it.

It is easy to experience public life as something happening beyond our reach. We encounter decisions already made, institutions already established, and arguments already framed by someone else. We become accustomed to reacting. Over time, the habit can narrow our understanding of what we are capable of contributing. We begin to wait for someone with greater authority to do the work we believe needs doing.

Self-government asks more of us. It rests on the conviction that human beings can exercise judgment and take responsibility for their choices. That capacity gives citizenship its moral seriousness. We have an obligation to consider what deserves our support, to examine the reasons for our convictions, and to act with regard for the people affected by our decisions.

This is what I mean by personal agency: recognizing that our choices carry weight and accepting responsibility for how we use them. Our circumstances shape the opportunities available to us, and our efforts cannot guarantee a particular result. Even so, we can take responsibility for the contribution within our reach. We can develop the knowledge necessary to speak with authority. We can undertake work that others have left undone. We can become more capable of serving the communities to which we belong.

That responsibility begins with the government of ourselves. A person who hopes to exercise public influence must learn to discipline his own judgment. Confidence should be supported by study. Conviction should withstand honest examination. The willingness to speak must be accompanied by the willingness to listen and to correct an error. These habits give others reason to trust us with responsibilities that affect their lives.

I want the Madison Center to help cultivate that kind of leadership.

There are capable people who have something valuable to contribute to American public life but lack the resources to make that contribution effective. A student may have the ability to explain difficult ideas clearly without having an audience. Someone with the initiative to organize a chapter may need guidance and people willing to work alongside them. A thoughtful writer may need serious editorial criticism before an argument is ready to enter public debate. Potential becomes useful when people have opportunities to develop it through demanding work.

We are building the Madison Center to find these people and help equip them. Through civic education and opportunities to publish, members will develop their understanding and learn to communicate it responsibly. Through chapters and relationships across the organization, they will gain experience bringing people together and carrying a shared undertaking through to completion. The purpose of these resources is to help capable leaders enter the public arena with the preparation their responsibilities require.

Our ultimate goal is to reach and serve the American public at large. Our strategy is to do that through trained leaders who carry their knowledge and experience into the wider life of the country. The Madison Center equips leaders; those leaders, in turn, inform and serve the public.

A person who learns to explain constitutional principles can bring that understanding into a classroom or a community discussion. A chapter leader who learns to organize effectively can help others participate in civic life. A writer who learns to make a careful argument can improve the quality of a debate far beyond our membership. In each case, the value of our work grows as it reaches people outside the organization.

This places a responsibility on the Center itself. We should judge our success by what our members become capable of contributing and by the quality of the work they carry into public life. Influence must be earned through competence and exercised with respect for the judgment of fellow citizens. The leaders we prepare should help others become more capable participants in self-government.

I am undertaking this work because I believe there are people ready to accept that obligation. I want the Madison Center to give them a place to begin, people to work alongside, and meaningful opportunities to put their abilities to use.

If you believe you have something to contribute to the life of this country, I want this organization to help you make that contribution. The republic we have inherited places a responsibility before each of us. Our work begins when we accept our share of it.