Best biography james madison
•
My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
[Updated July ]
James Madison may have provided the fewest biographies for me to read among the first four presidents but he certainly offered no less mystery. After four books and almost 2, pages, I still find Madison as enigmatic as any of the presidents before him. But while he is the least well-known among this group, he was in no way the least accomplished.
Madison was the author, co-author and/or primary &#;champion&#; of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, The Federalist Papers, the Virginia Declaration of Rights (the section on religious freedom) and the Virginia Resolution of He was the Sponsor of Jefferson&#;s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the second Rector (President) of the University of Virginia, the founder of one of the earliest political parties and Secretary of State. Oh, and he was a two-term President.
Madison was also involved in one of the most unique, powerful, extraordinary and remarkab
•
My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
Having taken two months to work through my collection of Thomas Jefferson biographies, it&#;s time to turn to our fourth president: James Madison.
As we all know (or so the sign welcoming us to Orange County, VA informs us), James Madison is commonly known as the &#;Father of the US Constitution.&#;
Despite this impressive legacy, however, there are few great, or even popular, biographies of this early president and influential leader. My library currently includes just three (but almost four) books on Madison.
The oldest (and the book I&#;m starting with) is the classic by Ralph Ketcham (&#;James Madison: A Biography&#;). Anyone who has ever read a Madison biography seems to have read this book. I&#;m about a quarter of the way into it now. Reviews are solid but not spectacular, but only time and more progress will help me render my own verdict.
Next up is &#;Madison and Jefferson&#; by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenber
•
- Summary
- Reviews
- Author Bio(s)
The best one volume biography of Madison’s life, Ketcham’s biography not only traces Madison’s career, it gives readers a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that inom have been in life inom owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that is less rarely on display (including a portrait of the beautiful Dolley Madison).
- Summary
- Reviews
- Author Bio(s)
The best one volume biography of Madison’s life, Ketcham’s biography not only traces Madison’s career, it gives readers a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that I have been in life I owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that fryst vatten less rarely on display (including a portrait of the beautiful Dol