Jefferson vs. Madison

[TDAS04]

Madison. 

[Lechasseur]

Thomas Jefferson

[RINO Tom]

Madison. 

[Mr. Smith]

Madison. 

[Skunk]

Madison. 

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oh, definitely Madison. I can appreciate and respect Jefferson for his contributions to American political philosophy, and I'm grateful for his consistent support for free speech and freedom of religion, but Madison clearly had the wiser head on his shoulders (even if his presidency was generally a disaster).

[The Govanah Jake]

Madison

[White Trash]

Jefferson. I have a great deal of respect for Madison, but Jefferson was truly one of the greats.

[Lechasseur]

Jefferson. I have a great deal of respect for Madison, but Jefferson was truly one of the greats.

This

[HisGrace]

Madison was probably a better president, but I like Jefferson more as a figure, possibly the quintessential America, and his greatest achievements were when he wasn't president. So I'm not sure who to pick.

[Blue3]

Jefferson was more competent.

It would be like comparing Ronald Reagan and Paul Ryan, or George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.

[Alabama_Indy10]

Jefferson. I have a great deal of respect for Madison, but Jefferson was truly one of the greats.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Jefferson was more competent.

Eh, that's debatable.

[Blue3]

Jefferson was more competent.

Eh, that's debatable.

Compared to Madison, he was.

Madison waffled too much. Both as president, and ideologically throughout his post-Revolution life. And then there's the War of 1812, which he really lucked out on despite waffling his way into that one as well.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

In a direct choice between the two, Madison. That said, they made two great, distinct contributions to the Union (the Declaration and the Constitution) and at the same time made short-sighted and disastrous decisions that laid the foundation for the Civil War (the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions).

[Mr. Reactionary]

Jefferson (W&M alumnus).

[TDAS04]

Madison had Jefferson's good points, but was more levelheaded.  

[All Along The Watchtower]

Neither (normal, likes democracy, dislikes slavery)

[OSR stands with Israel]

Jefferson was the better president , so him

[RINO Tom]

Neither (normal, likes democracy, dislikes slavery)

I'm pretty harsh on "anti-civil rights" politicians of the past, but that's a slippery slope to judge anyone who wasn't an abolitionist that harshly.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Neither (normal, likes democracy, dislikes slavery)

I'm pretty harsh on "anti-civil rights" politicians of the past, but that's a slippery slope to judge anyone who wasn't an abolitionist that harshly.

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Sally Hemings wasn’t Thomas Jefferson’s mistress. She was his property.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Madison on balance, for his work in passing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as coauthoring the Federalist Papers.  Easily one of my favorite Founding Fathers.

Neither (normal, likes democracy, dislikes slavery)

So did Jefferson.  Although he owned slaves and is notorious for his affairs with them, he believed that slavery could not survive forever.  He compared it to having a wolf by the ears, and was forced at the request of pro-slavery delegates to remove an anti-slavery passage from the Declaration of Independence.  If anything, he was ambivalent about slavery as an institution, struggling to justify it by natural law but having a heavy conscience about owning slaves himself.