James Madison: Writings (LOA #109) (Library of America Founders Collection) - Hardcover

Madison, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1883011663 ISBN 13: 9781883011666

Publisher: Library of America, 1999

Synopsis

Over 200 years after the founding of the federal republic, James Madison remains the most important political thinker in American history. The prime framer of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Madison was also a brilliant expositor of the new republican government and its underlying principles. His eloquent and insightful writing on freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, the rights of minorities under majority rule, the role of the states in the federal system, and the separation of powers are central to American political thought and speak to the controversies of the present day.

Arranged chronologically, this Library of America volume contains 197 essays, addresses, speeches, private memoranda, and letters written between 1772 and 1836. Included are all twenty-nine of Madison’s contributions to The Federalist, as well as revealing letters and speeches from the Constitutional Convention, the crucial Virginia ratifying convention, and the first federal Congress that illuminate his central role in framing and ratifying the Constitution and adopting the Bill of Rights. Early letters from the Revolution and the Confederation record Madison’s strong commitment to religious freedom, his acute observations on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and the beginning of his historic political collaboration with Thomas Jefferson.

Selections from the 1790s include eloquent denunciations of the Alien and Sedition Acts and candid private appraisals of George Washington and John Adams. Writings from his terms as secretary of state and president record his determination to uphold American independence during the conflicts of the Napoleonic era and his leadership of the nation during the fiercely controversial War of 1812. Letters and memoranda from his retirement demonstrate his opposition to nullification and secession, his illusory hopes for African colonization as a solution to the dilemma of slavery, and his deepening concern over the sectional threat to the federal union he loved. James Madison: Writings includes a chronology of Madison’s life, an essay on the texts, explanatory notes, and an index.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

About this title

About the Author

James Madison (1751-1836) was the fourth President of the United States and become known as the ‘father’ of the Constitution because of his influence in planning it and drawing up the Bill of Rights. He was Secretary of State under Jefferson, and his main achievement in this role was the purchase of Louisiana from the French. He lived in Montpelier, Virginia, for eighty-five years, two of which he spent on the governor’s council. He was elected President in 1809 and again in 1812. During his terms in office he worked to abolish slavery, to disestablish the Church and to seek peace, although under his command the war against Britain resulted in a U.S. triumph.

Reviews

James Madison (1751-1836) was a prominent participant in the American Revolution and the framing of the U.S. Constitution and also served as Secretary of State and President of the United States. Rakove, Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University and a Pulitizer Prize-winning historian, offers an extensive volume of Madison's essays, speeches, and private memoranda from the Revolution and Articles of Confederation through his post-Presidential activities. The book's scope distinguishes it from similar one-volume efforts and allows us a broader view of Madison's thinking than presented in The Federalist. The chronological order helps readers examine different periods of Madison's thought, e.g., his Federalist Papers expound a theory of an extended republic and a general theory of separation of powers. Larger public and academic libraries will find Rakove's presentation useful for readers' understanding of Madison, whose writings are significant in advancing key ideas central to the American Republic.ASteven Puro, St. Louis Univ.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Library of America
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1883011663
• ISBN 13: 9781883011666
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 966