CS Monitor
'Madison's Gift' vividly recounts the many accomplishments of America's
fourth president
* * *
James Madison's career is considered through the lens of his relationship
with five historic figures: Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe, and –
of course – Dolly Madison.
By David Holahan February 13, 2015
_James Madison_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/James+Madison) ,
our fourth President, is making a comeback nearly 180 years after his death.
In the past six months a pair of books has chronicled his myriad
contributions to his country. The more recent, and the better of the two, is
_David
O. Stewart_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/David+Stewart) ’s
Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships that Built America.
The author tracks the Virginian’s career through his personal and political
relationships with five other important historical figures: _Alexander
Hamilton_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/Alexander+Hamilton) ,
_George Washington_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/George+Washington)
,
_Thomas Jefferson_
(http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/Thomas+Jefferson) , _James Monroe_
(http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/James+Monroe) ,
and, of course, Dolly Madison. That’s quite a network and Madison takes
full advantage of friends in high places.
His first major collaboration is with Hamilton, a brief and businesslike
campaign that was instrumental in the creation and ratification of _America_
(http://www.csmonitor.com/csmlists/topic/United+States) ’s Constitution,
without which it is unlikely that 13 disunited states would have evolved into
a great and enduring nation. There was talk of secession in 1787, not
merely among states but within them, too. Northern and southern New York
talked
of splitting up. Madison was 36 when he helped to pull this national rabbit
out of a hat, and if he had retired to Montpelier then and there, his
legacy would be secure.
But he did not retire. Instead, he proceeded to help George Washington
create a functioning government based more or less on the Constitution, while
serving in the lowly House of Representatives but acting like a prime
minister in all but name. This was Madison’s Federalist phase, when he feared
the
ineffectual anarchy of individual states more than the potential tyranny
of an empowered central government. If the Constitution was a bit vague in
spots – for example, on whether or not the President could fire cabinet
members without Senate approval (which was required to install them) – Madison
came down on the side of implied executive powers.
Stewart sums up his subject’s state of mind in 1787 succinctly: “Madison
did not fear, he wrote, giving the president too much power: ‘I see, and
politically feel that that will be the weak branch of the government.’ His
expectation proved true thought the nineteenth century; the massive growth of
executive power in the twentieth century was beyond his imagining.”
Later, Madison would join his close friend and fellow Virginian Thomas
Jefferson in fearing the burgeoning federal government, switching sides in the
tug of war between Washington, D.C. and the provinces. This ideological
realignment would estrange him from both Hamilton and George Washington.
Madison opposed the former’s plan for a national bank only to see Washington
sign the bill. Two decades later, as president, Madison came to appreciate the
value of Hamilton’s bank and would support its continued existence. It
seems that even founding fathers flip-flopped now and then.
Fellow plantation and slave owners, intellectuals, and political allies,
Jefferson and Madison had what might be termed today a “bromance.” They
discussed everything from tobacco yields, architecture, and slavery to national
security and the latest books, which they would purchase for one another
on their respective travels. When they were apart, they wrote one another
almost constantly. Together they created the first American political party
in opposition to Hamilton and his fellow travelers, pioneering the
partisanship that is so prevalent today. For example, they put a prominent
journalist on the federal payroll whose job description was to write articles
savaging the opposition.
While they would be termed strict constructionists today, President
Jefferson and Madison, then Secretary of State, did not let Constitutional
qualms
get in the way of a good deal: buying the Louisiana Territory from France
for four cents an acre. It is to their credit that in this case they didn’t
let rigid ideology get in the way of common sense. On another front,
ideology did interfere with political reality when President Madison – who
disdained big government, including a robust military – led an ill-prepared
nation to war against Great Britain in 1812.
Mostly, however, Madison and Jefferson got things right, and Stewart
describes this dynamic duo as “the most influential political partnership in
the
nation’s history.” Starting with Jefferson in 1801, Virginian Republicans
would dominate the national government for six consecutive presidential
terms.
Madison’s relationships with James Monroe and with his wife Dolly are
interesting, if not quite as compelling as the others. But throughout his fifth
book, Stewart manages to bring the times and the characters he is covering
vividly to life. His prose is clear and his insights are illuminating. His
section on slavery telescopes the national debate down to the level of
personal relations between founding fathers like Madison and Jefferson and the
slaves they inherited, and would pass on to their heirs.
Slavery, indeed, was the ultimate partisan dilemma, whose solution eluded
the best and brightest for fourscore and seven years. After the 1787 miracle
at Philadelphia, perhaps another was too much to expect, even from the
likes of Madison and Jefferson.
Stewart is a lawyer who doesn’t write like one. He weaves vivid, sometimes
poignant details throughout the grand sweep of historical events. He brings
early history alive in a way that offers today's readers perspective –
although perhaps also, occasionally, a sense of chagrin.
Here, for instance, is Stewart's description of how the early American
government functioned: “In that first Congress, floor debate featured men who
prepared their own remarks, attended House sessions, and listened to each
other. Few other activities competed for their attention while each chamber
was in session. Committee work was performed at other times, while
fundraising events and media opportunities were not yet invented.”
For readers in 2015, such lines may be surprising, but they serve as a
useful reminder that much has changed in Washington, and not all for the
better
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