The Presidency of James Madison

✍ Scribed by Robert Allen Rutland

• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 247
• Series: American Presidency Series
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Henry Adams portrayed James Madison as a weak president who lacked both decisiveness and administrative skills. For a century, most historians accepted Adams's assessment.

In this study of the fourth presidency distinguished historian Robert Rutland paints a more complicated portrait. Rutland, former editor-in-chief of the Madison Papers, sees Madison as a bookish, practical statesman who worked furiously to avoid conflicts in his cabinet and in Congress. When he finally realized England would not be swayed by economic pressure, he boldly led the nation into a second war for independence that allowed the United States to emerge with a renewed sense of dignity and purpose.

Rutland's lively narrative covers all major events of the Madison administration, including the War of 1812 and the push for national expansion. It provides a fresh interpretation not only of the contribution of Madison's presidency, but also of the "master builder of the Constitution" himself. Madison emerges neither as the weakling painted by Henry Adams nor as a demigod, but rather as a man who attempted to be the president envisioned at the Constitutional Convention and who achieved his highest priority, to strengthen the Union.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword
Preface
1 Prologue
2 Storm Signals from the Senate
3 The Virginia Dynasty Continues
4 More "Splendid Misery"
5 A Time to Heal, a Time to Wound
6 The Dogs of War Unleashed
7 The Fuse of War Sputters
8 A Capital's Not for Burning
9 Dawn of an Era, Twilight of a Party
Bibliographical Essay
Index