James Madison

by Sydney Howard Gay

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, at Port Conway, Virginia; he died at Montpellier, in that State, on June 28, 1836. Mr. John Quincy Adams, recalling, perhaps, the death of his own father and of Jefferson on the same Fourth of July, and that of Monroe on a subsequent anniversary of that day, may possibly have seen a generous propriety in finding some equally appropriate commemoration for the death of another Virginian President.

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Biography, Presidents, Nonfiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

1814-1888

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was interesting. I didn't know how difficult it might be to find good biographies of former presidents when I started out on my quest to read at least one book about every president. I have no idea how old this book is except it was first published before 1923. That's certainly evident from the style. More modern biographers/ies are a world apart. Once I got used to the style though it was okay. Madison was an interesting fellow, recognized as the father of the Constitution. While claiming he had no interest in politics he spent about 45 years of his life in the arena. He should have stopped before he became president as this period was not among his shining moments. I still think Jefferson was a very selfish individual. Can you imagine asking George Washington to serve a second term as president then adding "I'm going home to Monticello. See ya!". Amazing.