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This is the thread for the discussion beginning August 9th on The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President by Noah Feldman.

by Noah Feldman

The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President

by Noah Feldman

Synopsis:

A sweeping reexamination of the Founding Father who transformed the United States in each of his political “lives”—as a revolutionary thinker, partisan political strategist, and president

“In order to understand America and its Constitution, it is necessary to understand James Madison.�� —Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci

Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician he co-founded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.

Now Noah Feldman offers an intriguing portrait of this elusive genius and the constitutional republic he created—and how both evolved to meet unforeseen challenges. Madison hoped to eradicate partisanship yet found himself giving voice to, and institutionalizing, the political divide. Madison’s lifelong loyalty to Thomas Jefferson led to an irrevocable break with George Washington, hero of the American Revolution. Madison closely collaborated with Alexander Hamilton on the Federalist papers—yet their different visions for the United States left them enemies.

Alliances defined Madison, too. The vivacious Dolley Madison used her social and political talents to win her husband new supporters in Washington—and define the diplomatic customs of the capital’s society. Madison’s relationship with James Monroe, a mixture of friendship and rivalry, shaped his presidency and the outcome of the War of 1812.

We may be more familiar with other Founding Fathers, but the United States today is in many ways Madisonian in nature. Madison predicted that foreign threats would justify the curtailment of civil liberties. He feared economic inequality and the power of financial markets over politics, believing that government by the people demanded resistance to wealth. Madison was the first Founding Father to recognize the importance of public opinion, and the first to understand that the media could function as a safeguard to liberty.

The Three Lives of James Madison is an illuminating biography of the man whose creativity and tenacity gave us America’s distinctive form of government. His collaborations, struggles, and contradictions define the United States to this day.

About the Author:



Noah Feldman specializes in constitutional studies, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between law and religion, free speech, constitutional design, and the history of legal theory.

Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, he is also a Senior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard.

In 2003 he served as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and subsequently advised members of the Iraqi Governing Council on the drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law or interim constitution.

He received his A.B. summa cum laude in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in 1992.

Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a D.Phil. in Oriental Studies from Oxford University in 1994.

From 1999 to 2002, he was a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard.

Before that he served as a law clerk to Justice David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court (1998 to 1999) and to Chief Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1997 to 1998).

He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1997, serving as Book Reviews Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

He’s the author of eight books: The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President (Random House, 2017); Cool War: The Future of Global Competition (Random House, 2013); Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR’s Great Supreme Court Justices (Twelve Publishing, 2010); The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Princeton University Press, 2008); Divided By God: America's Church-State Problem and What We Should Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2005); What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation building (Princeton University Press 2004); and After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2003). He also co-authored two textbooks with Kathleen Sullivan: Constitutional Law, Twentieth Edition (Foundation Press, Fall 2019) and First Amendment (Foundation Press, 2016).

Areas of Interest

* Comparative and Foreign Law: Islamic Legal Studies
* Constitutional Law
* Constitutional Law: Constitutional Design
* Law and Religion
* Legal Theory: History of Legal Thought

all by Noah Feldman

PRAISE

“Illuminating and absorbing . . . [Noah] Feldman’s deeply thoughtful study shows that the three identities of James Madison constituted one exceptional life, which effectively mirrored the evolving identity of the American republic in its most formative phase. In Feldman’s capable hands, Madison becomes the original embodiment of our ‘living Constitution.’��—The New York Times Book Review

“Grand . . . Feldman is a very accessible and quietly stylish writer, and his approach to his subject is a fresh one.���̧����ܾ�����

“Groundbreaking . . . The Three Lives of James Madison studies all the aspects of Madison’s complicated public career, as both the main author of the Constitution to the country’s first wartime president to the co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party. . . . [Feldman is] uniformly excellent on Madison the political creature, which can’t help but resonate with the present day. . . . [A] superb account.��—The Christian Science Monitor

“James Madison was instrumental in framing the constitutional government that serves the American people today. . . . This is an insightful examination on how theories and ideals are applied and changed by real-life circumstances.��—Library Journal

“The most stimulating political book that I have read in as long as I can remember. Madison was a young genius obsessed with the idea of constitution-making and government structure and who, in his early twenties, started designing the American government. Almost every debate we’re having now about politics comes back in some way or another to Madison’s vision and the questions Madison was thinking about in the 1770s and 1780s. . . . Madison was way more important to our country than Hamilton was.��—Jacob Weisberg, editor in chief of The Slate Group and author of The Bush Tragedy

“Feldman brings a scholarly rigor and a gift for narrative to this impressive account of the sprawling—and often perplexing—life of James Madison.��—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

“Feldman gives us a rich portrait of our fourth president in all his many aspects: constitution maker, politician, partisan, friend, slaveholder, husband, president, and elder statesman. The result is a fresh, bold, and much-needed look at a pivotal figure in American and, therefore, world history.��—Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

“Feldman, combining laudable scholarship with delightful writing, does a brilliant job of showing how Madison’s precise and reasoned mind, along with his personal friendships and rivalries, created our code as a nation.��—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci

“Feldman skillfully explains the evolving genius of Madison with precision and clarity. The result is a narrative both epic in scope and intimate in detail.��—David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, authors of Washington’s Circle: The Creation of the President

Table of Contents

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Preface
Author’s Note

Book I: Constitution

Chapter One: Friendships
Chapter Two: Rise
Chapter Three: Crisis
Chapter Four: Philadelphia
Chapter Five: Compromise
Chapter Six: Ratification

Book II: Party

Chapter Seven: The Bill of Rights
Chapter Eight: Debts
Chapter Nine: Enemies
Chapter Ten: The President and His Party
Chapter Eleven: In the Shade

Book III: War

Chapter Twelve: Secretary of State
Chapter Thirteen: Neutrality
Chapter Fourteen: President
Chapter Fifteen: War
Chapter Sixteen: Failure and Redemption

Conclusion: Legacy

Photo Insert
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
By Noah Feldman
About the Author

Syllabus

Week One: August 10th - August 16th (1 - 41)

Cover p. 1
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Preface - p. 6
Author’s Note - p. 12

Book I: Constitution - p. 13

Chapter One: Friendships - p. 14

Week Two: August 17th - August 23rd (41 - 84)

Chapter Two: Rise - p. 41

Week Three: August 24th - August 30th (84 - 125)

Chapter Three: Crisis (page 84)

Week Four: August 31st - September 6th (pages 125 - 173)

Chapter Four: Philadelphia (page 125)

Week Five: September 7th - September 13th (pages 174 - 223)

Chapter Five: Compromise (page 223)

Week Six: September 14th - September 20th (pages 224 - 271)

Chapter Six: Ratification (page 224)

Week Seven: September 21st - September 27th

Book II: Party

Chapter Seven: The Bill of Rights

Week Eight: September 28th - October 4th

Chapter Eight: Debts

Week Nine: October 5th - October 11th

Chapter Nine: Enemies

Week Ten: October 12th - October 18th
Chapter Ten: The President and His Party

Week Eleven: October 19th - October 25th
Chapter Eleven: In the Shade

Week Twelve: October 26th - November 1st
Book III: War

Chapter Twelve: Secretary of State

Week Thirteen: November 2nd - November 8th
Chapter Thirteen: Neutrality

Week Fourteen: November 9th - November 15th
Chapter Fourteen: President

Week Fifteen: November 16th - November 22nd
Chapter Fifteen: War

Week Sixteen November 23rd - November 29th
Chapter Sixteen: Failure and Redemption

Week Seventeen: November 30th - December 6th
Conclusion: Legacy

Photo Insert
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
By Noah Feldman
About the Author

Sign up here if you plan to participate. I will be not be sending out an event notification nor a broadcast.

In the future, I will get back to that practice for every book - but right now I am concentrating on getting the discussions begun. It takes a lot of time and effort. I did send out one for the Alexander the Great book but for now we are just getting all of the other discussions up and running.

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We are about to begin. We will read and discuss the assigned pages each week. The assignments are always doable and we suggest you have another book to read on the side so that you can participate in the group discussion and keep up without going ahead.

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Post and introduce yourself and let us know where you are reading from - city (approximate), state or city, town, village (approximate) and in which country. And tell us what interested you about the book and your reason for wanting to read it. Why are you interested in reading about James Madison?

My name is Bentley and I am the founder and group leader of the HBC and I want to welcome you to this Presidential Series read. We are delighted to get back into our Presidential Series.

I promise you that we will get through this book with flying colors. And I am very interested in learning more about James Madison along with you.

I am from the Metro NYC area and I enjoy thoroughly big cities but likewise I also enjoy country settings, roads and vistas. I love the ocean and being by water in general. And I seem to love all things paper. Getting a kindle was tough when you love the smell and the feel of books. But honestly it has been easier when you are moderating many different books at the same time and need to keep all your notes straight.

2020 has been quite a year - we have had an impeachment, we have had the discovery of killer hornets, we have had a serious and on going pandemic (the Coronavirus or Covid 19), we have seen the release of documentation that provides validity on the sightings of UFOs, we have seen global protests regarding racial issues and we have seen space travel once again take a giant step in the US. And it is only August! Let us look forward to the remainder of the year hoping that the Covid 19 situation improves.

In the meantime - turning our attention to books and to discussions is very much welcomed.

Please introduce yourself and tell us why you are interested in reading about James Madison. Be sure to also tell us from what corner of the globe you are from - town, village, city and country or if you are from the US - city and state. We love to know where each of us is reading from. It can be of course be approximate.

It is always best to post and introduce yourself so folks know who you are when you post and feel more comfortable about posting back. We always introduce ourselves at the beginning of each discussion so folks know who is participating and we can get to know each other through the site.

Welcome to all.

Regards,
Bentley

We kick off on August 10th!

Our first week's reading assignment is as follows:

Please post and introduce yourself and it is never too late to join a discussion or a read at The History Book Club - so do not be shy.

Week One: August 10th - August 16th (1 - 41)

Cover p. 1
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Preface - p. 6
Author’s Note - p. 12

Book I: Constitution - p. 13

Chapter One: Friendships - p. 14

Chapter Overviews and Summaries

Preface

In the Preface, we learn that James Madison would not have been a successful politician, much less one of the greatest statesmen of the age. He hated public speaking and detested running for office. He loved reason, logic, and balance.

Madison with Hamilton were two of the most prolific authors of The Federalist Papers and their vision helped the colonies adopt the Constitution.

Madison would become our first war time president after the ratification of the Constitution; even though he designed the republic to avoid armed conflict. He emerged from the war - a hero.

According to the author, "charting Madison’s three public lives, this book follows Madison’s character and his Constitution on the path from idealistic innocence to chastened, realist experience. Madison believed that creating a republican state free of faction was the greatest political problem the world had ever known. He also believed the U.S. Constitution would make this ideal an institutional reality."

Chapter One: Friendships

Madison came North for his health and because of this move went to Princeton. Chapter One traces this move and the impact that this had on mentors and friendships.

After commencement, Madison could have stayed in Virginia; but then he turned his attention to religion and conversed with William Bradford about religious liberty.

Resistance to England was underway in the colonies. The Continental Congress was about to begin in Philadelphia and Madison wished that he were there to see it. He wanted Bradford to send him all of the news about it. Preparation for war was in progress and Madison himself joined a unit. Madison did not see action; due to headaches and his weak constitution.

Madison joined a Virginia committee chaired by his father. Its purpose was to provide an organized method for enforcing the economic sanctions adopted by the Continental Association. Both his father and the younger Madison were impressed by Patrick Henry.

Both Madisons (father and son) were concerned about slave uprisings. Three slaves had been convicted of poisoning young Madison's grandfather.

The author writes that "when April 1776 came, the freeholders of Orange County chose James Madison, Jr., as one of their two delegates. He had just turned twenty-five years old, and it was his first elected office. In this brave new world, Madison’s talents were about to find the ideal venue for their expression."

The Virginia delegation drafted the “Declaration of Rights and Form of Government.�� The principal draftsman was George Mason, a Fairfax County gentleman and plantation owner, then fifty. However, Madison was concerned about religious liberty. Madison proposed changing the phrase “all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience,�� so that it would read, “all men are equally entitled to the full and free exercise of it [that is, religion] according to the dictates of conscience.�� The committee accepted Madison's proposal and edit.

Sign up here if you plan to participate. I will be not be sending out an event notification nor a broadcast.

In the future, I will get back to that practice for every book - but right now I am concentrating on getting the discussions begun. It takes a lot of time and effort. I did send out one for the Alexander the Great book but for now we are just getting all of the other discussions up and running.

And so we begin:

Preface

"IN ANY HISTORICAL ERA but his own, James Madison would not have been a successful politician, much less one of the greatest statesmen of the age.

He hated public speaking and detested running for office. He loved reason, logic, and balance.

But Madison entered public life at a moment when revolution demanded that familiar institutions be reimagined and transformed.

Time after time his close friends, the founders of the United States of America, struggled to find solutions as their hastily made arrangements failed. Each time, Madison retreated to the world of his ideas and books. There he thought, and worked, alone.

Source: Feldman, Noah. The Three Lives of James Madison (p. 6). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

More:


Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. What are your thoughts about Madison and how deeply introverted he was - cerebral, thoughtful, reasoned, quiet?

Deeply introverted and emotionally restrained, Madison directed his enormous inner energies into shaping ideas that could be expressed through precise, reasoned argument (p. 6)

2. Was it interesting to you how the author described Madison as the Newton or Einstein of the Constitution? How much do we owe Madison from your viewpoint of being able to think through and imagine and document that which we still hold dear today: The Constitution of the United States?

"He imagined its necessity. He designed its contours. He developed the theory that would justify it. He conceived the need for a national convention, brought his blueprint to Philadelphia, and after an intense struggle convinced the other delegates to adopt a version of it. If the Constitution was a new kind of governmental physics, Madison was its Newton or its Einstein." (p. 6)

3. For an introvert, Madison had a lot of gumption and courage. What are your thoughts so far on the Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? The author describes this period of Madison's life as one of three distinct, contrasting public lives that Madison would have. What does he mean?

Then Madison set out to convince the nation to ratify the constitution he had brought forth. With Alexander Hamilton, he wrote and published the Federalist papers, the most systematic arguments in its favor.

He led the forces of ratification to victory over Patrick Henry in the pivotal Virginia convention. He proposed and drafted the Bill of Rights to head off a potentially disastrous second convention (p. 6)

Wow, Bentley! thank you for all the great introductory material! This book sounds like it’s just what the doctor ordered! I’m excited!
Regards,
Andrea

My name is Brian, I'm from the Chicago area, and will be enjoying reading about James Madison, concurrently reading with Alexander Hamilton. (and George Washington, all unfinished biographies).

Great - glad to have you both. Welcome Brian from Chicago. We try to make it easier for folks to finish the reads by assigning a number of pages which are doable. By assigning one chapter a week - even if in this case they are about 40 pages by reading about 7 pages a day you are done with the chapter for the week and able to discuss it.

Andrea happy to have you with us and could you just add where you are located (approximately) because we always want to know where everybody is reading from. That makes it fun.

Glad to have you with us.

This is a very interesting article about James Madison and free speech.

James Madison's Lessons of Free Speech


Detail of James Madison portrait by John Vanderlyn, 1816 (White House Historical Association)

For the people to rule wisely, they must be free to think and speak without fear of reprisal.

The broad middle of this country seems caught between a rock and a hard place. On the far left, the “Antifa�� movement has taken to protesting �� often quite violently �� ideas that do not conform to their transitory notions of social justice. On the other extreme, the alt-right has become indistinguishable from white-supremacist and neo-Confederate movements that have their origins in the seedy underbelly of American political history.

Remainder of article:


Source: The National Review

Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. What are your thoughts about Jefferson's words:

As we confront those who use their right to free speech to abuse the norms of decency and civility, we should calmly recall Jefferson’s admonition from his first inaugural address. “If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.��

2. Madison was very committed to free speech even if someone's words are personally offensive. He also believed that we should never wish the state to squash their right to do so. That would interfere with our first amendment freedoms of religion, assembly and petition, of press and speech. Comments?

"Instead, Madison’s commitment to free speech should serve as a reminder that, while people say things that we might find personally offensive, we should never wish the state to squash their right to do so. Our First Amendment freedoms combined �� freedom of religion, of assembly and petition, of press and speech �� give us the right to think what we like and say what we please. And if we the people are to govern ourselves, we must have these rights, even if they are misused by a minority."

Preface, continued:


George Washington by Charles Willson Peale (Mount Vernon Ladies�� Association)

"It is interesting to note that the day before George Washington died that he was "extremely displeased" with Madison and Monroe at this time in his life and had also severed all ties with another great Virginian.

This was Thomas Jefferson, an ally of Madison and Monroe who, six years earlier, had served in President Washington’s cabinet and had resigned when Washington discovered that he was trying to undermine his administration and Hamilton.

In fact, Washington had come to regard Madison and Monroe as little more than pawns of Jefferson’s in a struggle over the country’s future.

These differences surfaced in the struggle over the Constitution, where the division of the Founders into supporters (federalists) and opponents (anti-federalists) anticipated the “factions�� and, later, parties that play such a role in American politics to this day.

In the broadest terms, federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, supported ratification of the Constitution because they favored a strong central government tied to commercial interests. Anti-federalists, including George Mason and Patrick Henry, distrusted centralized power, favoring strong states and an agrarian economy.

Washington’s feeling of betrayal only intensified when he decided that Jefferson and Madison were helping Monroe research his View of the Conduct of the Executive in the Foreign Affairs of the United States, published in 1797. As Washington’s minister to France, Monroe had been recalled for insufficiently defending administration policy, and this book, defending his own conduct, was highly critical of Washington’s foreign policy.

Martha Washington called Jefferson “most detestable�� and his election to the presidency two years earlier as “the greatest misfortune our country had ever experienced.�� Earlier, after Jefferson visited Mount Vernon in 1801 to pay his respects, Mrs. Washington would recall his appearance “the most painful�� occurrence of her life, “next to the loss of her husband.��

Here is the entire article written by Alan Pell Crawford for George Washington's Mount Vernon:

Link:

About Alan Pell Crawford:

Alan Pell Crawford is the author of Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman–and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America and Thunder on the Right: The “New Right�� and the Politics of Resentment.

His writings have appeared in American History, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, and he is a regular book reviewer for The Wall Street Journal.

Crawford has had a residential fellowship at the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

all by Alan Pell Crawford

Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. Hamilton, now secretary of the treasury, set out to shape the national economy just as Madison had framed the republic’s political system.

To this end, Hamilton proposed a national debt and a national bank that together would permanently align the interests of the government with those of the financial markets.

Madison denounced Hamilton’s plans as a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to shift power from the people to the capitalists.

Hamilton rejoined that Madison was wrong about the Constitution—and he had the support in Congress to back him up (p. 7)

Note: As we all know, Hamilton's bank was destined not to endure; constitutional challenges and opposition from state banks forced it to close after 20 years of operation.

But the institution he created laid the foundation for a second national bank and, almost a century later, for the establishment of the Federal Reserve System (Hamilton's idea).

Who was right from your viewpoint? Hamilton had the support of Congress and of Washington. And of course now we have the Federal Reserve System which has served this country well? Comments?



More:




The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking
Link to publication from the Federal Reserve Bank:

Sources: The Federal Reserve History, Mount Vernon, Preface

(no image) The Origins and Economic Impact of the First Bank of the United States, 1791-1797 by David Jack Cowen (no photo)

by Bray Hammond (no photo)

by Robert E. Wright

by Robert E. Wright

Obviously, James Madison changed his mind at some point:



James Madison (1751-1836)

Often called the Father of the Constitution, James Madison became the fourth president of the United States in 1808.

Before that, he served in the Virginia Assembly and was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was one of the authors of the “Federalist Papers,�� essays often credited with contributing to the ratification of the Constitution.

He is also credited with helping to frame the Bill of Rights. Like his fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson, Madison opposed the idea of a national bank, and in 1811, during his administration, the bank’s charter expired.

However, after the War of 1812, the government once again found itself with mounting debt and the country in increasing economic distress.

But there was no central bank to help ease these conditions. In 1816, Madison signed the bill chartering the second Bank of the United States.

Sources: From the Federal Reserve History, FCPA

More:


Excerpt from above:

The leadership lessons from Madison did not end with his work on the Constitution. His presidential tenure provides several important leadership lessons for the CCO as well. Most notably was his response to the War of 1812, where he found the national army was in disarray when the conflict began and from the economic perspective, his failure to renew the charter of the First National Bank of the United States had severely impeded the government’s ability to finance the war effort.

His response to both issues demonstrated that when faced with facts on the ground which do not support your thesis or even your beliefs you need to change your program going forward. Madison did not think the US should have a standing army so allowed the army to fall into a placid state at the beginning of the crisis. From this, Madison resolved to strengthen the national army, most notably professionalizing the training of the officer corps at West Point.

The second significant issue was the First National Bank of the United States, whose charter Madison had allowed to expire in 1811. Recognizing his actions had damaged the country’s ability to pay for the War of 1812, Madison led the fight to charter the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. The Second Bank lasted until its charter lapsed under President Andrew Jackson in 1832.

Madison’s evolution on these final two issues points up a key ingredient for every CCO to be open to the think of those with whom you disagree. Madison made clear that when the situation demonstrated the ideas of others, even opponents, had merit he would incorporate their ideas and thinking into his own thinking. The Second Bank of the United States and standing military are but two examples.

Sorry, Bentley, I’m from Houston. In all that I’ve read so far (which isn’t much), I think that Madison is something of an introvert, which amazes me.
Regards,
Andrea

Yes, very much so but then again - at the beginning of our country - it was probably far better that we had thinkers, logical and reasoned individuals; rather than simply talkers.

Preface continued:



For me, it was interesting reading how Madison could change his mind over time given additional facts and new situations where he would see the error in his ways. The Central Bank is one of those instances which is now The Federal Reserve Bank system.

Another one of these possibly is the party system which Madison was vehemently opposed to and somehow was persuaded to think otherwise. If he were alive today, I wonder what he would think about the parties that in retrospect he helped create:

"Having designed a Constitution intended to eliminate the need for political parties, Madison acknowledged the limits of his creation and adopted a tactic he thought he had rendered obsolete.

With Jefferson, he formed the Republican Party to counter the Federalist Party.

Once friends and allies, Madison and Hamilton became personal and political enemies.

Their brutal struggle over the meaning of the Constitution and the future of the United States gave birth to American partisanship (p. 7)

Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. Do you think that Washington on his deathbed was correct that Madison and Monroe had become pawns of Jefferson? Why would Madison change his mind about something that he felt so strongly against? If Madison were alive today, do you think he would see the error of his ways and adjust course? Your comments, pro or con.

2. Was Martha Washington right that seeing Jefferson at her door was the second most painful experience that she had had since the loss of her husband?

3. Is the party system and factions destroying America as Hamilton, Washington, John Jay and even Madison had once believed?

4. The author believes that "partisan politics defined Madison’s second public life" and his "third public life" would be defined when the Republicans returned to power with Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800, Madison’s third public life began. Previously Madison had always acted through collective bodies such as legislatures and conventions. Now for the first time he became a statesman, wielding executive power on an international scale. In the preface, the author outlines and explains the title of the book and the three public lives of Madison that he will explore. What are your thoughts so far about Madison even though we have just begun?

More:


Sources: The Library of Congress, Preface

Preface, continued:


A lithograph of the Battle of New Orleans, circa 1890 (© Corbis)

Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. What are your thoughts about what the author wrote:

"Madison became the first wartime president, despite having designed the republic to avoid armed conflict.

The limitations imposed by the Constitution made war fighting inefficient and invasion of other countries ineffectual.

But when the British turned the tables and tried to invade the United States, the constitutional republic was strong enough to defend itself." (p. 8)

2. How did Madison become the hero?

Preface continued:

The author focused on Madison's character in the preface:

"This character emerges most vividly through the cycles of Madison’s extraordinarily close friendships. At almost every stage of his life, Madison had at least one contemporary friend with whom he was closer than any other, a closeness expressed in near-constant letters reflecting shared projects, hopes, and aspirations. Most of these friendship cycles eventually devolved into rivalry.

Madison invariably tried to reconcile with his friends, believing that continued friendship should be possible even in the face of disagreement.

Often, by exerting extraordinary emotional control, he succeeded in saving the friendship. His close friend and contemporary James Monroe twice tried to destroy Madison’s political career by running for office against him, once for Congress and once for the presidency.

Both times, Madison insisted that their differences were political rather than personal, and after winning, managed to make Monroe into an ally and colleague once again. But friends could also become enemies, as happened between Madison and Hamilton (p. 9)"

Discussion Topics and Questions:

1. What are your thoughts about Madison trying to take the high ground regarding differences with friends or rivals? If Hamilton had lived, would he eventually have been able to bury the hatchet with him? Why do you think that "mending fences" was so important to Madison despite what his former friends had tried to do to him (example, Monroe)?

2. How do you explain the dynamic that kept Madison and Jefferson closely aligned; even though they were dramatically different men?

3. How do you foresee Madison’s character and his extremely close friendships? How would they help him model his own political ideal of concord within a state?

4. The author suggests that Madison developed the practice of using the Constitution as a tool to criticize the opposing party, a tactic that would become a recurring feature of American politics and is still much in use. Do you agree with the author that the Constitution has become another political argument and bludgeon to thwart your political opponent whomever that might be? Is it happening today? What are your thoughts?

5. We hear a lot about sanctions today whether in terms of a trade war or against our adversaries - how effective do you think these sanctions have been or are?

The author presents Madison's view:

"Ultimately Madison learned that while sanctions worked, they were too slow in practice to be the sole tools of statecraft. He had to threaten force—and take the nation into its first declared war—to establish the constitutional republic as a respected global actor. (p. 10)

More:


Video - Last veteran of the War of 1812 passes away - 1905
In 1905, New York City hosted a grand procession for the last living soldier of a war that ended 90 years earlier - Funeral of Hiram Cronk 1905 - - Photographed May 17-18, 1905. American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Location: Brooklyn, New York, N.Y. - Camera: G.W. ''Billy'' Bitzer

Sources: The Smithsonian, Preface

Our first week's reading assignment is as follows:

Please post and introduce yourself and it is never too late to join a discussion or a read at The History Book Club - so do not be shy.

Week One: August 10th - August 16th (1 - 41)

Cover p. 1 - complete
Title Page - complete
Copyright - complete
Epigraph - complete
Preface - p. 6 - in progress
Author’s Note - p. 12 - will not discuss - complete

Book I: Constitution - p. 13 not yet begun

Chapter One: Friendships - p. 14 not yet begun

Today's Progress:

a) The moderator has kicked off the discussion and posted regarding topics, questions, etc. through page 10 of the Preface. Tomorrow we will complete the Preface and begin Book One - Constitution.

b) At any time, please post a very brief intro and also let us know where you are reading from and why this book interests you.

c) Then post what your impressions are so far and review the discussion topics and questions and try to answer a few. If there is something else that you would like to discuss in the reading assigned - please feel free to do so. You are not limited to the topics that the moderator feels are important. However, please do not discuss or go beyond page 40 or the last page of Chapter One this week -since this is a non spoiler thread. We have a spoiler thread called the glossary where you can post anything that you like about any part of the book but not here. If you go beyond the reading assignment for the week, you must then use the spoiler html.

d) We are delighted to have everyone with us and want to hear from you so don't be shy.

Welcome.

This is an oldie but goodie from the past regarding the Federal Reserve Bank (from the 1950s) - these old films are very entertaining but also interesting from the lens of the time period 1950s - some scenes would not be politically correct today:

The Federal Reserve System Origins, Purpose and Function 1950s

Link to youtube video:

Summary:

The origins, purposes, and functions of the Federal Reserve System form the basis of this 1950 Encyclopedia Britannica Films, Inc., production.

Made in collaboration with Columbia University Economics Professor James W. Angell, the black-and-white film opens with the narrator that a generation of Americans have grown taking the Federal Reserve System as much for granted as they do the US Postal Service.

But there are also those who remember what life was like before the Fed. (The system was created in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act in response to a 1907 financial crisis in which the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50 percent from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred and there were numerous runs on banks and trust companies. The 1907 panic eventually spread throughout the nation when many state and local banks and businesses entered bankruptcy).

At the film’s opening, two men re-enact a common scene that would’ve occurred during the panic, as a local banker tells a grocery store owner that he would not be able to renew a promissory note and that it would be due in full. “I can’t lay my hands on $2,000,�� the man pleads at mark 1:34, but to no avail. The banker then explains �� with the assistance of graphics �� how banks make their money by taking deposits and making loans and investments. A discussion of such fiduciary terms as portfolios, reserves, and liabilities follows, all of which are illustrated on the screen, as is a discussion of local banks and their relationship with correspondent banks.

“But if they can print bank notes, why are they short of money?�� the businessman asks near mark 06:00. The answer, the banker explains, is that all of the notes possible against securities owned have already been printed. “Everyone’s scared. Nobody trusts anybody anymore.��

So what can be done? Perhaps a central reserve bank, the men wonder at mark 07:15. The narrator explains that Congress worked on developing the Federal Reserve System for five years, and by the time President Woodrow Wilson took office in March 1913, a preliminary draft of the legislation was ready. The film recreates a scene in which Wilson reviews the legislation along with Congressman Carter Glass, whose legislation created the Fed. “A bank called the Federal Reserve Bank,�� he says at mark 09:19, “that will be in a very real sense a banker’s bank.�� Additional graphics outline how local banks would do business with the Federal Reserve Bank, starting at mark 10:00. At mark 13:13, the narrator reads from the preamble of the legislation as the film shows “President Wilson�� signing it into law.

“Today its main task is to promote stability in the country’s economy by using its influence to bring about increases or decreases in the country’s banking reserve,�� it is explained beginning at mark 13:30. By 1929, the system had done well to curtail money shortages, until the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. During this period, a number of amendments to the Federal Reserve System were made through the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, the Banking Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Banking Act of 1935, all of which are noted beginning at mark 16:42. The Federal Reserve System is applauded, starting at mark 20:50, with helping finance the United States�� involvement in World War II �� as the film shows a number of quick cut battle scenes. “New times bring new problems, and we must always modify the Federal Reserve System to meet them,�� the Glass character says as the film reaches its end.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA

Source: Youtube

I'm Adelle and I'm happy to be joining this group for the James Madison read.

I'm organic from Bismarck, ND....when I left, the city had just under 20,000 people, and we would drive to visit my grandmother who lived in a town of about 150. I still LOVE the open land with no buildings or cars to be seen.

My husband--from Taiwan---and I have lived just outside Denver, CO.

I'm reading this book because I don't actually know very much about James Madison and I would like to. What shaped him?

lol, "originally"

Adelle, welcome - isn't it funny how the spell checker seems to decide which word it likes better (smile).

The openness must have been wonderful. It probably felt like you had more air to breathe and an open sky.

Since Feldman has seemed to focus on character in the preface - we will have to see if that is one of Feldman's themes in this book. Glad to have you with us.

Bentley, my name is Andrea from Houston. I’m intrigued by Madison, who I’ve always thought of as Jefferson’s sidekick. This book reveals that Madison, an Anglican, attended Princeton, a Presbyterian stronghold ... it’s interesting how that shaped Madison’s thoughts on religious freedom!
Regards,
Andrea

Great Andrea to have you with us on this read from Houston. I think he was most assuredly close to Jefferson.

You have to wonder if Madison had attended William and Mary for example if there would have been any difference in his belief system?

Hi, I'm Casey from a small city outside Sacramento, California. This is my first time to participate in a history discussion on ŷ������.

I was excited about the book selection since I just read it last year and loved it. My motivation was to learn more about the making of the U.S. Constitution -- the controversies, conflicts, and compromises -- and especially Madison's role.

Unfortunately, the book is now sitting on a shelf at our local library with no e-book or audio options, and the library just canceled curbside pickup. So I'll have to make do without the book in front of me. But I promise -- no spoilers.

Hello everyone, my name is Lorna, and I am one of the Assisting Moderators in the History Book Club. I will be joining you from Denver, Colorado. I am excited to read this book about James Madison as part of the Presidential Series. This sounds particularly interesting in that the approach will be different and focus on James Madison as a genius, a partisan and a President. I have been slowly making my way through the biographies of our founding fathers and first presidents. It seems like a very important time in our history to reflect back on the care and the struggles of our forefathers as they worked together in forging the founding and guiding principles of our nation.

Casey wrote: "Hi, I'm Casey from a small city outside Sacramento, California. This is my first time to participate in a history discussion on ŷ������.

I was excited about the book selection since I just read..."

We are glad to have you with us Casey. And Covid 19 has changed everything hasn't it - at least for now. Welcome from sunny California.

We hope you enjoy the discussion and we look forward to reading your posts.

Lorna wrote: "Hello everyone, my name is Lorna, and I am one of the Assisting Moderators in the History Book Club. I will be joining you from Denver, Colorado. I am excited to read this book about James Madison ..."

We are glad to you with us Lorna. I am wondering whether Feldman being a Constitutional scholar who also focuses on law and religion; whether that will have a bearing on the book. I suspect it will with Book One titled Constitution.

Bentley wrote @17: "

Preface... Was it interesting to you how the author described Madison as the Newton or Einstein of the Constitution?."

You know, that caught my attention, and I had to read that bit over a couple of times. I'm loving the book, but I must say I had reservations about that line. I CAN think of Madison as being as important in constitutional law as Newton and Einstein were in their respective fields... yet Madison's Constitution doesn't really mirror the ... discoveries...of Newton and Einstein. They discovered laws/realities that existed whether anyone knew about them or not. Madison didn't so much discover laws about governance so much as he thought out rules/laws that he believed would LEAD to better government.

Bentley wrote @17 "

Preface: "How much do we owe Madison from your viewpoint of being able to think through and imagine and document that which we still hold dear today: The Constitution of the United States
..."

I think we should greatly appreciate the work he did. We have a structure that seems to have mostly served us well. And, I must say, I started to think, too, that I need to appreciate in a positive way that he was not healthy, and that his early romantic efforts didn't succeed.

If he had been healthy, he would likely have paid more attention to other interests...and not have spent so much time in study and thought; if he had been healthy, he would likely have taken a more physically active role in the war... and not have had time to think...he might possibly even have been killed; if his romantic pursuit of Kitty had succeeded, much of his life's focus would have turned to wife and family...and more time and focus, too, on supporting them.

Jefferson wrote well; others spoke well; but Madison seems to have paid the most attention to the reasoning and to the importance of each individual word. And really, if we think of cases going to the courts, do we want them based on good sounding words? or on soundly-reasoned words? He did good.

Adelle wrote: "Bentley wrote @17: "

Preface... Was it interesting to you how the author described Madison as the Newton or Einstein of the Constitution?."

You know, that caught my attention, and I had to read t..."

Adelle, I wondered at that line too but for a Constitutional scholar and professor - maybe it is like Newton or Einstein to him.

Adelle wrote: "Bentley wrote @17 "

Preface: "How much do we owe Madison from your viewpoint of being able to think through and imagine and document that which we still hold dear today: The Constitution of the Un..."

Adelle, excellent post - I agree that Madison focused not just on what he was going to say because he hated public speaking but on the nuance and the meaning of every word and the plan and structure of whatever he was developing. I think Jefferson and others were interested more in presenting their ideas verbally.

Bentley wrote @21: "This [National Review Article] is a very interesting article about James Madison and free speech.

James Madison's Lessons of Free Speech

2. Madison was very committed to free speech even if someone's words are personally offensive. He also believed that we should never wish the state to squash their right to do so. That would interfere with our first amendment freedoms of religion, assembly and petition, of press and speech. Comments?.."

My own take would be to align myself with Madison in that I believe people DO have their own opinions and thoughts...and how can the people discuss the possible pros and cons of public decisions and thereby come to some sort of decision if they can't fully articulate their thoughts and hear the thoughts of others? As was stated in the National Review article, it's basically " a pre-condition of self-government."

Sometimes I read the views of others with repugnance due to what I view as excessively vulgar language and name-calling rather than the arguing of positions and policies... but then...I recognize that there's a danger to shutting language down. Who's to determine what is acceptable and what's unacceptable? So... I back freedom of speech.

Off-topic (not too far?), but from within the National Review article,

“Public opinion,�� he wrote in the National Gazette, in December 1791, “sets bounds to every government, and is the real sovereign in every free one.�� But in a large republic such as the United States, it is “less easy to be ascertained, and . . . less difficult to be counterfeited.��

That set me thinking about how much modern social media might have changed that. In 1791, public opinion WASN'T "easy to be ascertained;" nowadays there are multiple opinion polls daily. And as they can be worded to move the responses toward that which the pollster prefers, I do suppose that today public opinion is NOT so difficult to counterfeit. Easier, I would think, than in 1791. I imagine there was more certainty in knowing what one's fellow citizens actually thought if one saw and heard them in real time... and actually knowing the people speaking or writing...would provide a good foundation for knowing how much weight to give to their opinions. Through the internet, we often don't know how much credence we should give to the opinions we read. (LOL, Madison, perhaps, would ask, "Do they make a well-reasoned argument?" )

You are raising some great points. Look at social media and the fake videos that abound. Or videos that have been altered or slowed down. Or adding words never spoken.

Newspapers were very important in those days and the Federalist Papers were published in them.

Very true - it is even more important to be a critical reader and read things through and listen to the entire argument. Nowadays voters are not well informed and are listening to soundbites. And they are not tied to their community in such a way that they all attend town meetings etc.

It is better to have free speech that offends you sometimes than not be able to freely express your viewpoints. Nowadays they do impinge that right by curtailing "hate speech" and bullying. What are your thoughts on that?

Hi, I am Sandy. I live near Salt Lake City, Utah. I enjoy learning about history and would like to read books about each of the presidents. I don't know much about Madison and am looking forward to reading about him.

We are glad to have you with us and please post weekly so we know how you are doing and hear your responses to the discussion topics and questions or whatever stands out for you when you are reading.

Bentley wrote: @45 "It is better to have free speech that offends you sometimes than not be able to freely express your viewpoints. Nowadays they do impinge that right by curtailing "hate speech" and bullying. What are your thoughts on that?"

Personally, I come pretty close to actually hating "hate speech"...it's exceedingly uncivil, it so often seems to be used not to further dialog but instead is used for the express purpose of being hurtful and to try to make others 'less than." It makes me think less of the person who is using it.

But... I do not think there should be laws to restrict so-called hate speech. I do think that even "hate speech" is freedom of speech. Some people think that speech that is critical of someone or something IS hate speech. I in no way trust the politicians or the courts or the majority population of any town or city to determine and then LEGISLATE what can or cannot be said or written. .

To some degree, I think we can think of the Sedition Laws (under John Adams) as meant to curtail "hate speech"...as defined by the government in power.

Look at China's crackdown on Hong Kong. (Very worrisome. The Chinese government has so much power, and its surveillance capabilities increase every year, and they don't like ... criticism. )

I could be mistaken, but I don't think we're currently in danger of having hate laws passed. But I do think there is currently a real danger from public opinion--- from a social standpoint, public opprobrium, "cancel culture." The attitude "If you don't agree with how I think, you---not your opinions, not your thoughts, but YOU are beyond wrong."

How does one counter that? WWJMD?

Possibly off-topic: (view spoiler)[ Didn't Mills write about the power of public opinion in _On Liberty_? And he said this, too, 'If society lets any considerable number of its members grow up mere children, incapable of being acted on by rational consideration of distant motives, society has itself to blame for the consequences."

Compare the Federalist Papers to Twitter.

by John Stuart Mill
(hide spoiler)]

Bentley wrote @27: "Preface, continued:

Discussion Topics and Questions:
2. How did Madison become the hero?
"

Perhaps ??? because (1) the war ended with Americans being able to trade again; (2) American were no longer being impressed into the British navy--although per Wikipedia that seems to have ended before the war ended, (3) even though the treaty was signed BEFORE the Battle of New Orleans, the victory there put Americans into a positive mood at the end of the war ("Yay, us!!"), (4) maybe, like with "only Nixon could go to China"--because Nixon was anti-communist ... so Nixon was seen as strong enough on the issue... maybe because Madison was initially anti-war... he was seen in public opinion as only going to war because he believed we really, really had to. ??? Just musings/thoughts.

I liked this line from Wikipedia: "A popular view is that 'everyone's happy with the outcome of the war. Americans are happy because they think they won, the Canadians are happy because they know they won and avoided being swallowed up by the United States, and the British are happiest because they've forgotten all about it." [Citation: Dotinga & Hickey 2012]

(Wikipedia, "The War of 1812")

Great posts Adelle