Let's Bust a Recap : James Madison

Well, I have completed my first presidential biography of 2018. I have made it to our nation's 4th president, and I'm actually going to read another biography of him this year because I got it for Christmas and we can't just ignore a book, y'all. I'm also hoping to squeeze in a biography on Monroe so that we can keep this train rolling, but I'm having a serious dilemma and I need you to weigh in on this. There are two good biographies (only two?! yes. only two.) of Monroe out there and I can not decide which one I should read (and I don't want to read both). We have Harry Ammon's James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity originally published in 1971 and written to inform (read: boring) or we have Harlow Unger's The Last Founding Father: James Monroe originally published in 2009 and written to captivate (read: biased). Y'all. I'm so torn. I need you to help me out with this. Or if you know of another option, I'd be happy to check that out. 

Anyway, we're supposed to be talking about Madison, not Monroe, so let's get back on track. James Madison: A Life Reconsidered was written by Lynne Cheney and was just published in 2014 making it the most recent biography written of our 4th president until Noah Feldman got his work on Madison (The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President—the one I got for Christmas) published last October. Cheney decided a fresh look at Madison was in order because of her puzzlement over the popular portrayal of Madison as weak and shy despite his many accomplishments. (Here's a revolutionary thought, Lynne: all the biographers who came before you were actually correct—Madison was sickly and shy. Intelligence doesn't dictate personality.) This was the first presidential biography I've read that was written by a woman, and let me tell you, I noticed the difference pretty quickly. The prologue reads like a gushing, teen girl's fan letter to her adored celebrity crush and her use of the words "One imagines..." to fill in the gaps got old very quickly. Everything in the book seemed to be spun to cast Madison in the best possible light and any flaws, poor decisions, or incorrect thinking was briefly glossed over and dismissed. The book wasn't terrible (I definitely learned a lot about Madison), but I would assert that reading critically (which, really, we should always do that) is an absolute must for this one. 

Madison lived from 1751 to 1836 through the American Revolution, the founding of our nation, and the War of 1812. He is known as the Father of the Constitution for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution and Bill of Rights which is very impressive, but the time of his life that impressed me the most was actually his time as president during the War of 1812. He prepared the country to enter the war and led them well through it despite the poor performance by Congress and his Secretary of War John Armstrong, Jr. and even as he and Dolley were driven out of the White House while Washington was burned by the British. He acted decisively and re-entered the Capitol immediately to resume the business of governing the country. He was committed to the Constitution and to the very last day of his presidency, he worked to make sure that the Constitution was interpreted correctly especially as concerned the balance between federal and states rights. 

He was a career politician and part-time farmer. Politics were his life more than any president I've read about up to this point. He left the bulk of the work of running his estate to others while he worked in the state and federal governments. He was modest and moderate in pretty much everything, which I can really appreciate about him, and, unlike other presidents I've read about so far, he could let personal criticism roll off his back and even joke about it. He had impeccable moral integrity (unlike Jefferson, Hamilton, or Burr) and he was wholly devoted to his wife. He was prone to epileptic fits and never traveled overseas. He is widely regarded as a genius and our country and government is the way it is today largely because of him. 

One area of Madison's life that was very vague were his religious beliefs. He was extremely committed to religious freedom, possibly more so than any president that went before him. Because epilepsy was still widely considered to be the result of supernatural causes (such as demon possession) requiring supernatural healing, it makes sense that Madison was particularly sensitive that there be no government mandated religious restrictions or state supported religion. We really don't know much about the extent of Madison's epileptic episodes or health issues because he was careful to conceal that part of his life and when he got sick, he shut himself away from the public eye. Despite all his health issues, he outlived all the other founding fathers. Like Washington and Jefferson, Madison was concerned with what posterity would remember of him and edited his papers and destroyed a lot of his personal communication. He died heavily in debt and Dolley eventually had to sell Montpelier and lived the rest of her life in a sort of genteel poverty with creditors breathing down her neck any time they learned she acquired any money. 

The thing that got to me while reading this particular biography is that politicians and the media have always sucked. There really is nothing new under the sun. We like to complain about the deplorable state of our government today and act shocked when we hear of another politician's latest scandal, but this is the way it's been since the very beginning. It's easy to criticize people in power, but I'd say we've come a pretty long way from the days when congressmen would actually challenge each other to duels and kill each other over insults. I mean, maybe I just haven't been following the news closely enough, but I haven't heard of any state representatives slapping or caning each other during a congressional debate lately. People are just people and they always will be. 

The times in which he lived and his personal genius make Madison a noteworthy man for sure but for all that, he still kindof bored me. Once again, I'm intrigued by Aaron Burr's life and wonder if anyone out there would recommend a good biography on him. As I already mentioned, this biography didn't wow me, but at 458 pages, it was definitely manageable and informative. I'm interested to compare this Madison biography by Lynne Cheney to Feldman's, and I'll definitely let you know which one I think is better. 

Don't forget to tell me what I should do concerning the Monroe biography!