James Madison: A Biography Summary and Reviews

James Madison: A Biography
by Ralph Ketcham

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Book Summary Information

Author: Ralph Ketcham
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1990-03-22
ISBN: 0813912652
Number of pages: 753
Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Book Reviews of James Madison: A Biography

Book Review: A Comprehensive Study of a Significant Man's Life
Summary: 4 Stars

Ralph Ketcham's JAMES MADISON: A BIOGRAPHY was originally published in 1971 and was a national book award nominee. This biography is comprehensive (671 pages), and looks like it is the result of long study of our fourth president by this professor of history emeritus at my graduate school alma mater, Syracuse University.

This presidential biography took me 10 months to read (about halfway through, I quit reading it straight and took other book "breaks" between chapters), but I found it enjoyable. Ketcham really sketches a detailed portrait of Madison's life by closely examining almost all of its aspects, from what life must have been like for him growing up in Orange County, Virginia, to his work as "Father of the Constitution," his work on the Federalist Papers, his work as Secretary of State and as president, as well as a lengthy final chapter on his productive and active retirement (including his involvement with the founding of the University of Virginia).

This is not a fast read, clearly, but I can't help imagine that it is the definitive work on Madison's formative years, education, political career and contribution to our country. I learned a great deal about his relationships with the other framers of our democracy, his Republicanism, his stance on separation of church and state as well as slavery.

An interesting thing about Madison, to me, is that he was a slight man, who was often ill with some kind of recurring "attacks." He was only 5'4" and weighed about 100 pounds, and he did not have a charismatic presence or strong speaking style. While a man who made this wee of a physical impression would not be likely to be president today in our media age, this book demonstrates the level to which we owe Madison for the shape of our government, political system and political philosophy today. He informed the development of a free America at every step of the way through his keen intelligence, his ability to communicate his arguments and his affiliations with the other framers, who liked and respected him for his intellect and dedication to the cause of democracy.

I found one of the most interesting sections to be on Madison's presidency during the War of 1812. Ketcham details the war's events along with the political temperature in the nation at the time, including the opposition to Madison and his decision to go to war with England at this time. I always find it fascinating that the men and women we venerate as the founders of our nation were subjected to similar (if not worse) public abuse for their decisions -- decisions that our knowledge of history help us understand in a way their contemporaries could not. Madison took a great deal of criticism over this war, but by the end of his presidency, he was triumphant. This chapter also illustrates some ways in which Madison's inability to act without feeling he had clearly thought through all ramifications hurt him and his administration at times. (I also noted that several Little Rock streets are named for War of 1812 military leaders, which made this book more "local" to me.)

While Ketcham details the loss of an early love of Madison's when he traces the development of this relationship with some personal detail, Ketcham does not include a great deal about Dolley Madison in this book (her presence here does not compare to Abigail Adams' presence in McCullough's John Adams), which I found somewhat disappointing. Their family life is interesting, as she was a widow when he married her with a son, Payne Todd, who later became a lazy, shiftless, wanderer and gambler, who had to be bailed out of quite a few fiscal scrapes by his stepfather. Dolley and James Madison never had children together, and the portrait this book paints of her is fainter than I had expected.

This book is the book I would recommend to anyone who really wanted to dig into the life, career and impact of James Madison. The writing is authoritative and objective, giving the reader a sound education in our fourth president. While this book is not my favorite of the four biographies on presidents I have read so far, I think Adams and Madison are my favorite individuals I've studied in this effort to read about each president of the United States.

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