Customer Reviews

James Madison (Childhoods of the Presidents)

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Although it is nominally a biography of James Madison, this brief book is actually an examination of Madison's presidency. Wills explores the seeming contradictions between the brilliant Madison responsible for the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the less-than-impressive president.

Wills shows that there is less of a contradiction than there seems to be. The flaws that hurt Madison as a president were actually around much earlier, especially his inability to function well as an executive. Madison was much more a behind-the-scenes person, quite adept in committees or legislative situations, but not as able outside them.

As a biography, this book is rather short and sparse, but by focusing on one portion of Madison's life - the portion which he does not receive great acclaim for - Wills is still able to provide a lot of detail as he analyzes and explains the fourth presidency.

The author, Garry Wills, writes, "Madison's very presidency is semi-forgotten.", and addresses the question "How could James Madison be so outstanding in certain aspects of his life and be overshadowed in others." The text states that an explanation "...could take one of three approaches based on circumstances, on temperament or on specific errors." However, none of these fully explain the dichotomy Madison presents.

Wills notes that Madison had weak points which he carried over to the presidency: "...a certain provincialism with regard to the rest of the world and a certain naiveté with regard to the rest of his human beings." The book's first three chapters cover the "Pre-Presidential Years" noting "Madison is called the father of the Constitution. It is a title deeply deserved on many accounts." He had an intimate connection with all three administrations preceding his presidency being responsible for the framing and passage of the Bill of Rights.

The balance of the book, ten chapters, covers his presidency. He became president under very difficult circumstances. Jefferson literally had given up governing the nation for four crucial months passing on a stalled executive to Madison who had no real executive experience before becoming president. Lacking leadership experience the author relates the many cabinet and personnel problems he experienced while his provincialism often allowed him to get suckered punched in foreign affairs. Contrary to common belief, the Congressional "War Hawks" of the West did not thrust the War of 1812 on him. Madison wanted the war.

The author gives a succinct account of Madison and the conduct of the war from the aborted attempt to conquer Canada to the bright performance of the American Navy. In 1814 when the war was shifting in America's favor, Washington was burned in what the author calls "a perfect study of what was wrong with Madison' conduct of the war..." Political basis for military appointments (a practice continued into the Civil War) and reliance on state militia rather than army professionals contributed significantly to the Washington debacle.

The text gives a brief account of the work of the American peace commission and the treaty ending the war, which the Senate approved on February 16, 1815. The author notes, "Not a single one of its announced war goals had been reached....", but notes that "During his last year in office, Madison rode the swell of popular nationalism...." During the war Madison was truer to the strictures of the Constitution than any subsequent war president "as if to prove that the Constitution did not have to be jettisoned in a crisis."

Garry Wills answers the question of how could James Madison be so outstanding in certain aspects of his life and be overshadowed in others. He concludes this book writing "No man could do everything for the country-not even Washington. Madison did more than most, and did some things better than any. That is quite enough."

The reader will find parallels in today's national politics with the political shenanigans of the Madison era.

In halls of American history, few people are as overlooked as James Madison. While his presidency was largely forgettable, his influence on the country through his work on the constitution can not be forgotten.

In this concise work by Gary Wills, Madison is portrayed as a slight and fragile man. Yet even in early adulthood, he showed the markings of a leader. Overcoming his quiet nature and small size, he played a key role in writing the Constitution. He championed the cause of separation of church and state. Madison felt that faith must be genuine and can not be forced. A forced faith is dangerous to the future of the religion, potentially causing it to loose its meaning.

Madison's presidency was marred by the War of 1812. This often misunderstood chapter in American history is given an excellent explanation on page 97. Through the course of this war, Madison protected the Constitution as well as ending the reigns of political patronage than caused earlier battles in the war to be failures.

Much like Thomas Jefferson paved the path to the presidency for Madison, Madison also left a legacy of rising stars in the party then known as Republican including James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. Were it not for Jackson's military success, the country stood to loose ground in the War of 1812. Instead, the country ended the war with the same amount of territory as when it began the war.

While this biography is short, I must admit that I learned a great deal from it. I believe this book can hold its ground against any biography of Madison. While not caught up in frivolous details, it tells a great story.

To me, the "American Presidents" series is one of the more unusual ongoing publication projects. Endeavoring to provide accounts of the people who have occupied the presidency and their terms in office, they have selected a first-class group of writers and historians (such as Sean Wilentz, William Leuchtenburg, and Douglas Brinkley) but often paired them up with subjects a little outside their normal focus - having Robert Remini, the foremost biographer of Andrew Jackson, write on John Quincy Adams instead, for example.

This volume is no different. Garry Wills is one of my favorite writers, the author of many thought-provoking books on subjects as diverse as Saint Augustine, the Gettysburg Address, and John Wayne. While he has written on the era before - his book on the Declaration of Independence is one of the best studies of it available - he has not previously focused on Madison in his publications. Nevertheless, this book is a good introduction to the man. While ostensibly focused on the presidency, Wills does incorporate much about Madison's pre-presidential career, especially in terms of how it shaped a presidency that by common consensus most historians regard as disappointing compared to his pervious accomplishments.

What makes this volume interesting to read, though, is Wills' own analysis. He never shies away from outlining his opinion, and he backs it up with persuasive (though not always convincing) arguments. His examination of Madison's foreign policy in the context of the Jeffersonian tradition is particularly good and alone worth the effort of reading the book. Though there are better books to turn to for a more comprehensive overview of Madison's career (such as Ralph Ketcham's James Madison: A Biography), this is an excellent starting point in seeking to understand one of the most important of our Founding Fathers.

I have been a fan of Wills writing since I was a kid and read his little booklet, Elias and Eliseus, in the Catholic Know Your Bible Series, written around 1960. Wills' biography of James Madison manages to pack a great deal of information into 160 pages and does so in a coherent and very readable manner. One can at times get bogged down in the details but Wills provides an excellent conclusion, and useful summaries of various factors, groups, etc. throughout the book. He also blows away several myths such as future presiden William Henry Harrison's "great victory" at Tippecanoe which was pyhrric at best and even the notion that we won the War of 1812 is questionable--the truth was much more ambiguous. Nevertheless,, Madison's War was a watershed event that unified Republican factions and moved the American Republic past old, Federalist party alignments and some of the original Federalist and Jeffersonian Republican concerns. Five of the war's military leaders became U.S. presidents. The miniscule navy, funded during the Federalist phase of Washington and Adams, beat the mighty British in several important battles because of the superiority of American naval engineering and the boldnesss and military genius of its young naval commanders who are contrasted with the much older army and militia leaders who were notable, especially in the early phase of the war for their corruption, incompetence and timidity. One U.S.commander wasted valuable time worrying whether he could use an old rag to surrender or if he should try to obtain a cleaner, whiter one. Bolder and more effective army officers such as Andrew Jackson later emerged. In the end, England grew weary of its war with us; we learned lessons about the need for a strong coordinated executive branch; Madison made many mistakes, as did several of his abysmal cabinet appointments, and yet he steered us through the war and managed to prove the workability of the Constitution that he had authored. Wills also gives us an appreciation of the fragility of the Union and the very real possibility of the secession of New England which did not suppport the war. Unlike the war in Vietnam, America came out of the War of 1812, itching for new military adventures. Wills gives us othe fascinating details such as Madison's desire to annex Cuba and Canada, his obsession with the wrongheaded tactic of embargo, his naivete that caused him to be duped by Napoleon, his deliberat attempts to falsify his memoirs, his great contributions to the Washington and Jefferson presidencies, his major contribution to the concept of separation of church and state which current Christian fundamentalists would do well to familiarize themselves with. Other little known facts emerge in Wills' account of the times such as England's 18th century war atrocity against Denmark, wiping out Copenhagen. Excellent book, highly recommended.

While this book focuses mainly on the mediocre presidency of James Madison, the author nevertheless is able to convey the crucial role he played in the formation of the government. After reading Wills' account the reader comes away with a clear understanding that, aside from Washington, Madison was the most indispensible figure in the drafting and passing of the Constitution, the creation of our government. In fact, if it were not for Madison's foresight and persuasion, Washington may never have participated in the Constitutional Convention, leaving it doomed to failure. That Wills is able to convey all of this, and still concisely explain Madison's difficulties as Chief Executive, is a marvelous achievement considering the brevity of the book.

The dominant event of Madison's presidency is, of course, The War of 1812. The war defines Madison's administration. Wills writes of how Madison led or bungled the country into a war that it was ill-prepared for. He describes Madison's ineptness as Commander-in Chief. He analyzes how Madison, the staunch states-righter (ironic in itself) centralized power in the federal government in order to fight the War. And finally, we see, surprisingly, how Madison comes out of the morass he created more popular than ever. Wills provides persuasive reasons why this was the case.

Very informative and highly readable. Madison's life and the times in which he lived are anything but dull. Wills will leave you wanting to learn more about this most underrated of the founders.

The author seems compelled to insert Jefferson whenever possible. The book becomes a comaparison of the two men, but moreso a comment on wether or not Jefferson approved of Madison's actions. I found this to be annoying as if I wanted to read about Jefferson I would read a book about him. The book is short on insight regarding Madison. I would look elsewhere if that is your objective.

The first two or three chapters of this book were tough-going. The writing was choppy because the author kept jumping from his own narrative to lengthy quotes from Madison. But persistence paid off. It may not be the definitive biography of James Madison, but it's a good read.

The book is short and focuses on Madison's presidency, with some background on his accomplishments before becoming president. The story that Garry Wills tells is that James Madison enjoyed a moderately successful presidency in spite of himself. While he was a brilliant and effective member of the legislature, he really didn't have what it takes to be a good president. He was too much of an ideologue and not enough of a pragmatic. One of his big mistakes was the embargo. Both before and during his presidency he believed England was more reliant on trade with the U.S. that the the other way around.

The passages about early naval battles in the War of 1812 were fun: the fledgling United States whipping the most powerful navy in the world. Of course, Madison thought the war could easily be won on land and didn't even think we should have a navy. Nor did he think we should have a federal bank, until he ran out of money to carry on the war. The idea that he was ruining the U.S. economy with his embargo probably never occurred to him.

But the book has a happy ending. The War of 1812 ended without destroying the U.S. Additionally, during Madison's presidency the extreme polarization between the Federalists and the Republicans was tempered quite a bit-more people recognized the need for a stronger federal government. All in all, the United States of America was in a better place at the end of Madison's 8 years as president.

This is a very good study of Madison as president. Wills is, as always, a source of insight and the quality of writing is up to his usual high standard. Wills is primarily concerned with explaining why Madison's presidency was not very successful. Wills begins by reminding us that Madison's presidency was perhaps more successful than commonly perceived. He did serve 2 terms and did hand over the office to his chosen successor. The War of 1812, which he blundered into, was brought to a reasonably successful conclusion. Still, this is not a performance that matches his other remarkable achievements. Wills points out that Madison was constitutionally unsuited to being a President, particularly a wartime President. Madison was a modest, actually shy man, who excelled in the committee room but was certainly not the dynamic leader demanded by wartime events. Madison was not, however, merely swept along by events. Wills is careful to show that the War of 1812 was brought on in large part by Madison's unrealistic policies when in Jefferson's administration. Madison's doctrinaire Republicanism and own political choices also hampered his ability to conduct the war well. For example, he allowed the charter of the Bank of the United States to lapse, and the absence of a central bank became a major obstacle to adequate wartime financing. Following a point made originally by Henry Adams in his great series of books on the Jefferson and Madison administrations, what really saved the American republic were the institutions developed by the Federalists, notably the small but highly competent professional military and navy. Madison's administration would conclude with the de facto adoption of many Federalist policies. Wills provides also nice overviews of Madison's pre- and post-presidential careers. He is particularly good on Madison's attachment to the separation of Church and State. Wills is careful to give Madison his due for positive achievements as a President. For example, he was careful to stay within the bounds of the Constitution and his record on Civil Liberties as a wartime president is better than that of Lincoln or FDR. A good book that whets your interest for more information on Madison and this period of American history.

Why in a book about Madison does the author feel the need to bring up the Vietnam War?
Why in a book about Madison does the author feel the need to bring up how wonderful FDR was?

Why in a book about Madison does the author feel the need to bash Republicans on every page while the Federalist come off as Saints descended from heaven.

Can you possibly guess what political affiliations this author belongs too???

I was jarring on every page to have this idiot pontificating on things that have NOTHING TO DO WITH MADISON!!!!