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James Madison is considered the "Father of the Constitution," but his progeny disappointed him. It had no effective defense against self-government's "mortal disease" – the oppression of minorities by local majorities. This Article explores Madison's writings in an effort to reclaim the deep conception of equal protection at the core of his constitutional aspirations. At the Convention, Madison passionately advocated a radical structural approach to equal protection under which the "extended republic's" broadly focused legislature would have monitored local laws and vetoed those that were parochial and "unjust." Rejecting this proposal to structure equal protection into the "interior" operation of government, the Framers instead adopted "exterior" admonitions against state ex post facto laws, impairment of contracts, and the like. Expanding this strategy, the Fourteenth Amendment admonished states against all denials of "the equal protection of the laws." Exactly as Madison predicted, however, protection of local minorities cannot be entrusted to "dim and doubtful" words enforced after the fact by courts that are inaccessible to minorities and too distant from the people at large to have the knowledge and confidence to resist powerful local majorities. This is particularly so of late, as the courts have placed vast spheres of activity off limits to the extended republic and denied it the power to enlist state officials in implementing national policy. By rediscovering Madison's neglected thinking on equal protection, and his elaborate design for a constitution that was never enacted, this Article sheds new light on seemingly intractable problems of federalism and equal protection and paves the way for a modern revival of Madisonian Equal Protection

Collett reviews 'Rethinking Abortion: Equal Choice, the Constitution, and Reproductive Politics' by Mark A. Graber.

Cover -- Halft Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Amendment Text and Explanation -- Introduction -- Chronology -- Chapter 1: Historical Background of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Speech in the House of Representatives Opposing Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Call for the House of Representatives to Vote on the Fourteenth Amendment -- Speech in the House of Representatives Praising the Fourteenth Amendment -- New York Times Editorial Following Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Speech in the House of Representatives Opposing Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Speech in the Senate Favoring Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Chapter 2: Equal Protection for Racial Minorities -- The Fourteenth Amendment Prohibits Laws that Are Discriminatory in Effect -- Racial Segregation in Public Accommodations Is Not Unconstitutional -- Under the Constitution Racial Segregation Cannot Be Tolerated -- Racial Segregation in Public Education Is Unconstitutional -- Race Cannot Be Used as a Basis for School Admission, Even to Achieve Diversity -- Affirmative Action in School Integration Does Not Violate the Fourteenth Amendment -- Chapter 3: Equal Protection for Women, Immigrants, and Gays -- Laws That Discriminate on the Basis of Gender Are Unconstitutional -- Children of Illegal Immigrants Are Entitled to Free Schooling -- Congress, Not the Courts, Is Responsible for Policies Regarding Illegal Immigrants -- Laws That Discriminate on the Basis of Sexual Orientation Are Unconstitutional -- The Constitution Does Not Require Preferential Treatment for Gays -- The Supreme Court's Rulings on Equal Protection Have Been Inconsistent -- Chapter 4: Current Debate on Equal Protection -- Banning of Same-Sex Marriage Will Someday Be Ruled Unconstitutional -- A Constitutional Amendment Should Be Adopted to Ban Same-Sex Marriage