Small man, big accomplishments, lackluster president

books:

	• James Madison: (The American Presidents Series) Garry Wills Times Books, 2002 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

James Madison's Presidency

James Madison(1751 -- 1836) is revered for his role as one of our nation's Founders. Madison played a major role in organizing the Constitutional Convention, in drafting the Constitution, and in securing its ratification through cowriting "The Federalist" (with Hamilton) and through winning a difficult debate with Patrick Henry which led to the narrow ratification of the Constitution in his home state of Virginia. Madison also worked valiantly for the separation of church and state.

Madison's accomplishments as the fourth President (1808 -- 1817) are less well remembered. Madison's presidency is the focus of this brief book by Garry Wills as part of the American Presidents series. Wills tries to explain why Madison's presidency was less successful that his brilliant earlier career. Wills points to Madison's provincialism, shyness, lack of executive experience, and tendencies toward idealism rather than practical politics to conclude that Madison's talents and prodigious learning made him better suited for a legislative, behind-the-scenes role than for a position as the nation's chief executive.

After brief consideration of Madison's earlier accomplishments and his roles under the presidencies of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson (he was Jefferson's Secretary of State), Wills examines Madison's two terms as president. Early in his administration, Madison showed poor judgment about people in selecting his cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and military leaders. He also displayed weaknesses of leadership and administration in coordinating the efforts and minimizing the feuding of his subordinates. Even thought he came to see the wisdom of the Bank of the United States, (he had opposed Hamilton on the formation of the Bank) Madison foolishly allowed its charter to lapse, when any sort of endorsement on his part would likely have saved the bank in Congress. This mistake haunted Madison throughout his administration.

Most of Wills's study of Madison's presidency is devoted, as it must be, to the War of 1812. If Madison's presidency is little-known, the War of 1812 remains our country's most confusing, obscure, and little understood conflict. The War had its roots in the conflict between England and Napoleon as Jefferson tried to steer clear of war. At the end of his presidency, at Madison's urging, Jefferson imposed an embargo with near disastrous results.

Wills traces the complex course of events that led Madison into war. Some of these events were due to misunderstanding and to slowness of communication (Britain had repealed the Articles in Council to which the United States had taken offense in declaring war. The ship bringing the repeal to the United States crossed the Atlantic at the same time as the United States ship sailing to England with news that war had been declared.) But, Wills argues, Madison was active in bringing on the War, in part because he had grandiose visions of annexing Canada. The result was a conflict for which the United States was ill-prepared. The country had a weak army, only six frigates built during the Washington administration, no generals with military experience, and, with the end of the First Bank of the United States, no money to conduct the war. It was a harrowing conflict for the United States.

The United States and Madison were fortunate to be able to end the War of 1812 without loss of territory. For Wills, Madison led the Nation into an unnecessary war for which it was ill-prepared. But Wills praises Madison for conducting the war without treading upon the constitutional rights of Americans. This was an important and difficult accomplishment which partially redeems Madison's presidency. And the United States came together as a nation following the conflict for the first time in its history.

Wills's book is both more reflective and more detailed than most of the works in the American President's series. Indeed, Wills has written extensively about this period of our history. Readers of this volume may wish to turn to Wills's study "Henry Adams and the Making of America" which examines Henry Adams' monumental history of the Jefferson and Madison administrations. Wills' short study is heavily indebted to Adams's history. Ambitious readers may want to explore Adams's history of this period for themselves. It is available in a two-volume set from the Library of America.

Robin Friedman

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A Short Biography of His Service

The author gives a review of Madison's service and Presidency but not a full biography. There is good information on how the political landscape changed during his Presidency and how Madison, the consummate politician navigated through it. The book is not very deep personally (like say an Ambrose book) but does give a good review of Madison's public service.

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Well written addition to the series

Garry Wills, eminent author on the American mind, writes a literate and compelling political biography of James Madison, "Jemmy" as he was called earlier in his life. Here was someone whose resume seems made to become president. Yet this man, "the Father of the Constitution," was not near the success that one might have guessed from his background.

His pedigree includes: key figure in the Constitutional Convention--from getting George Washington to attend (a coup) to helping structure the agenda (from amending the Articles of Confederation to trashing the extant constitution and replacing it with something very different); to serving as a major figure in the early Congress (including helping to produce a Bill of Rights), to organizing the first political party (along with Thomas Jefferson, although it took Martin Van Buren and his circle to perfect the arrangement).

Wills begins by observing that there is consensus that (Page 1) ". . .Madison, though one of the nation's greatest founders, is not one of its greatest presidents." Wills suggests that one can account for this by (a) bad luck falling Madison's way (which Wills discounts); (b) his temperament (he had more legislative than executive talent--more apt an explanation in Wills' view); (c) errors (a very poor reading of the British Empire, leading to foolish foreign policy and the War of 1812).

As with other in "The American Presidents" series, this begins with a brief sketch of the future president's youth, his early career, and his rise to the presidency (from the Constitutional Convention to Congress to Jefferson's Secretary of State). Trivia is included: Madison was the shortest American President ever.

This represents a standard, literate Wills' work. His literary approach is as expected (what a wonderful command of the language!). The work nicely lays out why Madison was not as good a President as one might have guessed--as well as his later life.

All in all, an estimable addition to this valuable series.

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Small man, big accomplishments, lackluster president

James Madison is often one of the least remembered founding fathers. However Madison was very important in the early years of the United States of America. Known as "the father of the Constitution" he was influential in the convention and is one of the best legislators of all-time. The book also reminds readers that George Washington asked for Madison's advice on Constitutional matters because he knew he would be setting precidents that would be followed by other holders of the Executive office.

The book quickly addresses his pre-Presidential years but mostly focuses on his time in the Executive office. The book gives a good quick look at the interesting if lackluster Presidency. The war often referred to as "Mr. Madison's war" dominated his Presidency and he deserves some of the blame for beginning the war, even though the country was completely unprepared. His embargos were disasterous and left the U.S. economy in ruins for a short while.

The book does a very good job at showing that Madison was a very good legislator perhaps one of the greatest in US History, but Madison was not made for the Executive office. He had the political knowledge, but lacked the size, leadership, and ability to stand up and announce what was going to happen (in an authoritative voice, perhaps because of his stature). Overall Madison was a very important man to the founding of the country although his 'flip-flops' are also shown throughout the book. Overall this is a good quick introduction to the Presidency of James Madison.

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Far more than a president

Garry Wills is an exceptional documentarian, and this effort is a fine example. A very comprehensive review of the formative years of this Founding Father is provided, those years that helped define the political system and policy of early America. Madison's contribution to the constitutional constructs of Virginia and the U.S. are well-woven, even if his presidency is less a focus of Wills energies. Portrayal is of a deeply insightful humanist who performed best as a thinker than an administrator, WIlls has captured the essence of the man himself.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

A bestselling historian examines the life of a Founding Father.

Renowned historian and social commentator Garry Wills takes a fresh look at the life of James Madison, from his rise to prominence in the colonies through his role in the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the first Constitutional Congress.
Madison oversaw the first foreign war under the constitution, and was forced to adjust some expectations he had formed while drafting that document. Not temperamentally suited to be a wartime President, Madison nonetheless confronted issues such as public morale, internal security, relations with Congress, and the independence of the military. Wills traces Madison's later life during which, like many recent Presidents, he enjoyed greater popularity than while in office.

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