Constitutional convention Quote by James Madison
![“...[at the Constitutional Convention] the States were divided into different interests not by their difference of size, but principally from their having or not having slaves. It did not lie between the large and small States: it lay between the Northern and Southern.” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f2a/james-madison-373_constitutional-conve_at-the-constitutional-convention-the-sta_1425365.jpg)
““...[at the Constitutional Convention] the States were divided into different interests not by their difference of size, but principally from their having or not having slaves. It did not lie between the large and small States: it lay between the Northern and Southern.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Constitutional Convention, 1787
The division over slavery was the primary conflict, not state size, separating North and South.
In simple terms: Slavery, not size, split the states.
Key Takeaway
Recognize underlying issues beyond surface differences.
Themes
politics
history
conflict
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
historical
analytical
When to use this quote
- legislative debates
- civil rights movements
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
Federalism
regionalism
human rights
Questions to Reflect On
- How do hidden interests shape political outcomes?
- What other factors might have influenced the divide?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on slavery can overlook other economic or cultural tensions.
![“The great objects which presented themselves [to the Constitutional Convention] ... formed a task more difficult than can be well conceived by those who were not concerned in the execution of it. Adding to these considerations the natural diversity of human opinions on all new and complicated…” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb8/james-madison-373_complicated_the-great-objects-which-presented-themse_2985361.jpg)
![“In framing a system which we wish to last for ages, we shd. not lose sight of the changes which ages will produce. [James Madison in the U.S. Constitutional Convention, June 26, 1787. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, ed. Max Farrand (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 1:422.]” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/301/james-madison-373_constitution_in-framing-a-system-which-we-wish-to-las_2108455.jpg)
![“It is certain that every class is interested in [educational] establishments which give to the human mind its highest improvements, and to every Country its truest and most durable celebrity.” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/964/james-madison-373_certain_it-is-certain-that-every-class-is-intere_22217.jpg)
![“[James] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. He used England of course as the model and said suppose that in England everyone had the free right to vote; the poor, the propertyless - who are the…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/069/noam-chomsky-42_constitutional-conve_james-madison-pointed-out-in-the-discuss_22456.jpg)
