James Madison's Montpelier We The People Fall 2013 | Page 9

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—James Madison,
Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788
James Madison, sitting at home with his books,
quietly analyzing forms of government, is not the
typical image of a national hero. He does not
command the awe of George Washington or the
celebrity of Thomas Jefferson. Yet Madison did
more than any other individual to find a way to
make democracy safe and enduring in America.
At Montpelier in 1786, Madison envisioned a
more perfect union, and he committed the rest of
his life to making it a reality.
- C. Sterling Howell, MA
The Montpelier Foundation
Sterling Howell has been with Montpelier’s Education
Department for five years and has a leadership role
in the development of the mansion tour and special
interest tours, as well as guide training. He was a
principal organizer of Montpelier’s current special
exhibit “A Young Nation Stands: James Madison and
the War of 1812,” and works closely with the Robert
H. Smith Center for the Constitution in its partnership
with the Kettering Foundation. He is a graduate
of North Carolina State University and earned his
master’s degree from The University of North Carolina
at Greensboro.

An Unlikely Partnership :

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