Would James Madison have approved of the government shutdown?

Madison would have been flabbergasted to hear that we had national debt in peacetime at all, let alone growing debt.  In his time the government was self-funding, based on customs duties, with no personal or business income taxes.

Madison in his time opposed as unconstitutional the chartering of the Bank of the United States, believing it was dangerous to monetary health to have a central bank.  So he would have opposed the existence of the Fed as well.

Finally, he was a strong proponent of the "power of the purse" being vested in the House of Representatives.  As he wrote in Federalist #58:

This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the  most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution  can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining  a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every  just and salutary measure.

So given these beliefs I think he would in fact have supported using the power of the purse as a "complete and effectual weapon".

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