By Paul Carrier
Analytical and high-minded, James Madison was one of the preeminent founders. Yet this “Father of the Constitution” and fourth president of the United States has long been overshadowed by the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and, perhaps to a lesser extent, John Adams.
Now Lynne Cheney — yes, that Lynne Cheney — has set out to elevate the diminutive, brilliant, sometimes sickly Virginian to his proper place in the first rank of America’s early leaders, with a meticulous look at the man who played such a crucial role in creating the United States and then seeing it through the War of 1812.
Cheney provides a compelling, nuanced portrait of the reserved Madison, whom a French diplomat described as “a gloomy, stiff creature.” Understated in appearance (he eventually dressed in black), Madison was a gifted storyteller who was jovial, relaxed and witty among people he knew well. And he had a touch of vanity. “His jacket and breeches were finely made, his stockings usually silk,” Cheney writes. “He powdered his hair and combed it forward to a point in order to cover a receding hairline.”
As with most anyone who deserves a full-length biography, some facets of Madison’s life are more compelling than others. The first 100 pages or so of James Madison: A Life Reconsidered are a bit of a slog at times. But to her credit, Cheney underscores Madison’s early and passionate commitment to religious freedom, and she carefully explores the somewhat mysterious illness — possibly a form of epilepsy — that plagued him throughout his life.
The pace picks up when the Constitutional Convention gets down to business in 1787 with the lofty goal of replacing the failed Articles of Confederation. Madison was a key player, arguably the most important one, in drafting and selling the new Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights that was later appended to it.
Cheney offers a bracing reminder that the Founding Fathers, and other political leaders from the nation’s formative period, were not the godlike icons we imagine. They were a contentious, argumentative, sometimes petty bunch, mere mortals who could be mean-spirited and irascible. Bitter rivalries were a fact of political life then as now.
Now Lynne Cheney — yes, that Lynne Cheney — has set out to elevate the diminutive, brilliant, sometimes sickly Virginian to his proper place in the first rank of America’s early leaders, with a meticulous look at the man who played such a crucial role in creating the United States and then seeing it through the War of 1812.
Cheney provides a compelling, nuanced portrait of the reserved Madison, whom a French diplomat described as “a gloomy, stiff creature.” Understated in appearance (he eventually dressed in black), Madison was a gifted storyteller who was jovial, relaxed and witty among people he knew well. And he had a touch of vanity. “His jacket and breeches were finely made, his stockings usually silk,” Cheney writes. “He powdered his hair and combed it forward to a point in order to cover a receding hairline.”
As with most anyone who deserves a full-length biography, some facets of Madison’s life are more compelling than others. The first 100 pages or so of James Madison: A Life Reconsidered are a bit of a slog at times. But to her credit, Cheney underscores Madison’s early and passionate commitment to religious freedom, and she carefully explores the somewhat mysterious illness — possibly a form of epilepsy — that plagued him throughout his life.
The pace picks up when the Constitutional Convention gets down to business in 1787 with the lofty goal of replacing the failed Articles of Confederation. Madison was a key player, arguably the most important one, in drafting and selling the new Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights that was later appended to it.
Cheney offers a bracing reminder that the Founding Fathers, and other political leaders from the nation’s formative period, were not the godlike icons we imagine. They were a contentious, argumentative, sometimes petty bunch, mere mortals who could be mean-spirited and irascible. Bitter rivalries were a fact of political life then as now.
John Hancock was “a courtier of popularity given to low intrigue,” according to Madison, who also was no fan of Adams. For his part, Franklin described Adams as “always an honest man, often a great one, but sometimes absolutely mad.”
Madison’s hostility toward Hamilton grew over time as Madison’s political views evolved. The feeling was mutual. Hamilton charged that Madison and Jefferson had “a womanish attachment to France and a womanish resentment against Great Britain." Jefferson once wrote a coded letter to Madison saying they should pray for the death of Patrick Henry, who publicly derided Madison as “unworthy of the confidence of the people.”
At the Constitutional Convention, delegates locked horns over the size of the presidency (one or three men?), how to apportion seats in the Senate, whether Congress should have the power to veto state laws, and the wisdom of creating the office of vice president. Madison backed a congressional veto of state laws because he said state legislatures were prone to “local mischiefs,” although he later came to view the federal government as a bigger threat to liberty. The constitutional debate was so rancorous that Washington, the president of the convention, wrote to Hamilton that he wished he had not gotten involved.
Cheney makes clear that Madison’s role in American history extends far beyond the drafting and adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which would be a solid legacy in and of itself. He served in Congress, wrote Washington’s first inaugural address, helped lead the opposition to Hamilton’s big-government programs, effectively founded the first Republican Party as a counterpoint to the Federalists, and almost single-handedly created a newspaper, the National Gazette, to champion Republican principles.
Madison married effervescent widow Dolley Todd, attacked the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts imposed during Adams’ presidency, served as Jefferson’s secretary of state and finally won the presidency itself in 1808. After arguing for years that economic sanctions were the best response to foreign belligerence, he felt compelled to invite a congressional declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812. When he left office, his Republican Party was “almost entirely dominant” in American politics. During his lengthy retirement, Madison lived to become the last surviving signer of the Constitution.
Over the course of several years, Cheney writes, Madison, “more than any other individual, would be responsible for creating the United States of America in the form we know it today.” In Cheney’s estimation, Madison and Jefferson were “the two greatest minds of the eighteenth century.” Her scholarship makes clear that Madison fully deserves to share star billing with the author of the Declaration of Independence.
Madison’s hostility toward Hamilton grew over time as Madison’s political views evolved. The feeling was mutual. Hamilton charged that Madison and Jefferson had “a womanish attachment to France and a womanish resentment against Great Britain." Jefferson once wrote a coded letter to Madison saying they should pray for the death of Patrick Henry, who publicly derided Madison as “unworthy of the confidence of the people.”
At the Constitutional Convention, delegates locked horns over the size of the presidency (one or three men?), how to apportion seats in the Senate, whether Congress should have the power to veto state laws, and the wisdom of creating the office of vice president. Madison backed a congressional veto of state laws because he said state legislatures were prone to “local mischiefs,” although he later came to view the federal government as a bigger threat to liberty. The constitutional debate was so rancorous that Washington, the president of the convention, wrote to Hamilton that he wished he had not gotten involved.
Cheney makes clear that Madison’s role in American history extends far beyond the drafting and adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which would be a solid legacy in and of itself. He served in Congress, wrote Washington’s first inaugural address, helped lead the opposition to Hamilton’s big-government programs, effectively founded the first Republican Party as a counterpoint to the Federalists, and almost single-handedly created a newspaper, the National Gazette, to champion Republican principles.
Madison married effervescent widow Dolley Todd, attacked the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts imposed during Adams’ presidency, served as Jefferson’s secretary of state and finally won the presidency itself in 1808. After arguing for years that economic sanctions were the best response to foreign belligerence, he felt compelled to invite a congressional declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812. When he left office, his Republican Party was “almost entirely dominant” in American politics. During his lengthy retirement, Madison lived to become the last surviving signer of the Constitution.
Over the course of several years, Cheney writes, Madison, “more than any other individual, would be responsible for creating the United States of America in the form we know it today.” In Cheney’s estimation, Madison and Jefferson were “the two greatest minds of the eighteenth century.” Her scholarship makes clear that Madison fully deserves to share star billing with the author of the Declaration of Independence.
