Madison’s Bill of Rights was a political concession to dissatisfied enslavers over militia control

Evidence

The intense anger that erupted in Richmond during the ratifying convention would push Madison to take a different tack in future negotiations. Over the next few months, as he ran for Congress, Madison decided that he needed to quell the discontent by crafting a Bill of Rights that would mollify the Anti-Federalists and enslavers, yet still leave the national government’s power in place. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 792

Categorization

• XREF: Core to the reader’s case study: shows the Bill of Rights as negotiated outcome of pro-slavery pressure, not principled libertarian founding — the reframing thesis made concrete.
• QUESTION: Does this narrative of the Bill of Rights as damage control hold up against Madison’s own recorded motivations?