An Important Letter from James Madison to Me Discussing a Matter of Grave Concern: how to preserve our Democracy

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I just received the following letter from former President James Madison that I wish to share with you because of its significance.

Montpelier, 2025

My Dear Marc,

I trust this letter finds you in good health and spirits. The matters which weigh heavily upon my heart, and which I now address to you, are of the utmost gravity—ones that concern the very future of our Republic, which, as you know, I hold so dear.

I write to you not only as a friend, but as a fellow citizen deeply invested in the preservation of our democratic experiment. What I have witnessed over the past few years, both in this nation and around the world, troubles me beyond measure. A figure whose wealth is as vast as it is unfathomable, an alleged billionaire, has come to occupy the highest office in the land. This man, along with his cabal of fellow multimillionaires and billionaires, has succeeded in capturing the very levers of power that once were the preserve of the people. It is a state of affairs that I can neither ignore nor reconcile with the principles upon which our government was founded.

Permit me to begin with a simple observation. The American experiment was not designed for the rule of the few. Our Constitution, with all its checks and balances, was created to protect against the concentration of power in the hands of any single individual or oligarchic faction. The Founders, in their wisdom, well understood that democracy is a delicate and often fragile thing, vulnerable to corruption, tyranny, and the abuse of wealth. A government by the people—whether directly or through their representatives—was established not only to secure their freedoms but also to ensure that no one, however wealthy or powerful, could subvert the democratic process to their own ends.

How far we have fallen from this noble ideal. Today, we are confronted with the rise of a man who has amassed untold wealth—not through innovation or service to the common good—but through systems that too often undermine the labor and rights of ordinary men and women. The very notion that such a figure could ascend to the presidency is a direct affront to the principles of equality and justice upon which our country was founded.

The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few—those whom I once feared would become "the great and oppressive minority"—has reached a point where it threatens to eclipse the voice of the people entirely. The Founders feared such a scenario, and for good reason. When wealth is concentrated in a small group, the very notion of equal representation becomes meaningless. A billionaire president surrounded by his fellow tycoons can scarcely be expected to champion policies that serve the common welfare. Their wealth affords them not only the means to influence elections and policy but also the ability to reshape the very fabric of society in ways that serve their private interests, rather than the public good.

You may ask, as I have done myself, how such a perversion of our system came to pass. The answer lies in the slow erosion of our civic institutions—those that once acted as a counterbalance to the overreach of moneyed elites. The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which allowed for the unlimited flow of money into our elections, stands as one of the most grievous blows to the integrity of our Republic. It is a decision that has turned our democracy into little more than a game of influence for the highest bidder. And in this new reality, the rich grow richer, the powerful grow more entrenched, and the people's voice is drowned out.

The problem is not simply the existence of wealth in politics, but the disproportionate power it grants to those who already possess it. This is not a new phenomenon, of course. As I wrote in The Federalist Papers, “the history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of rulers,” many of whom used their power to enrich themselves and subjugate the people. The difference now is that the financial resources at the disposal of our new class of aristocrats are so vast that they have the means to purchase not only the allegiance of politicians but the very laws that govern us.

One must ask—what becomes of our democracy when those with power and wealth, rather than representing the people, begin to view themselves as a class apart? It is this very question that I fear we must face as we contend with the growing influence of these modern-day oligarchs. Should we allow this trend to continue unchecked, the very ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity which underpinned the American Revolution will slip further from our grasp.

But perhaps more troubling still is the moral decay that accompanies such a system. It is not merely the political consequences of this concentration of wealth that concerns me, but the social and ethical consequences as well. A nation in which the powerful are ever more divorced from the struggles of the common people cannot long maintain its sense of justice or its commitment to the common good. The principles of fairness and empathy, once central to our national identity, are now increasingly replaced by a cold, calculating self-interest.

Marc, I do not write to you out of despair, but out of a deep sense of urgency. If we are to preserve this republic—the republic that so many of our ancestors fought to establish and defend—then we must take action. We must return to the spirit of the Constitution, to the idea that the government exists to secure the rights and freedoms of the people, not the fortunes of a wealthy few. We must demand reforms that curtail the influence of money in our elections, that restore transparency and accountability to our political system, and that ensure that the voice of the people remains paramount.

The struggle to preserve our democracy is not over, Marc. It is, in fact, only beginning. Do not relent.

Yours ever faithfully,

James Madison