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

A throughly enjoyable book.

Sections mis- aligned and incorrectly cut

A full account of the amazing life of one of our founding fathers and the maine framer of our constitution! Great history!

Stellar writing. Little redundancies, gives as much details as satisfies a curious hobbyist while going fast enough as to not tire the reader. Constant citations on sources; it’s very clear on where every bit of information came from. Works both as a biased-ish overview of the Revolutionary War-era to the War of 1812, and so anyone from professionals to people who took one year of U.S. History can understand and keep up. Serves as a really strong “Madison’s perspective”, for anyone curious and seeing history from the view of someone like Hamilton.

For students of US history and political science, I highly recommend this book. As Madison was the primary architect of the U.S. Constitution, a proper understanding of the ideals and politics behind the founding document begins with understanding the work that Madison put into that project. Perhaps just as importantly, as Madison was one of the founders of partisan political warfare (Republicans vs. Federalists), a proper understanding of the origins of factional division in US political culture begins with a study of of Madison's political career.The author divides the book into three parts, charting these as distinct life periods of Madison that define him as both a private individual and a public figure. The books length may appear to promise boring read, but the author does a good job balancing detail with narrative flow, making for compelling reading. The author also does a good job of bringing a critical lens to Madison's life, especially regarding his connection to slavery and his views and policies towards indigenous Americans, making this book a far cry from hero worship or rose tinted view of American history.In this biography we are given a clear picture of the man and his times, allowing the reader to understand the fundamental puzzle of US history: how interwoven the good of liberal philosophy and republican institution building are with the bad of a white-centric politics and the corresponding subjugation of black and indigenous peoples. The Three Lives brings us the stateman who more than any other defined the US project and lay the groundwork for its future, for better and for worse. Highly recommended.

Professor Feldman has written a solid scholarly review of the three most major aspects (the U.S. Constitution/ political operative with Jefferson/ president) of the public career of one of our country's principal founders. Most interesting to me is the materiel devoted to the drafting and later selling of the U.S. Constitution; also the discussion of the War of 1812 enlightened a corner of our national past that was hitherto shadowy for me.This is a good book to read for those, including myself, entranced by Alexander Hamilton. It provides the other side of the active policy debates between these two giants as our country took early form. (I still believe Hamilton was on the correct side of the long-term historical ledger.)I do think Professor Feldman is overly lenient in favoring or excusing the actions of James Madison, especially as president, but this is the norm for most biographers toward their subjects. All in all a very good intellectual biography.

I liked the treatment of the 3 stages of Madison's role in shaping the government. The in-fighting in the early years of the country and the political factionalism resonate with today's politics. Norman does not hesitate to show the flaws of his subject. It was surprising to learn that Madison resisted electioneering for a political office until it was absolutely necessary.. The book showed the inconsistencies in a number of Madison's decisions: the strength or limitation of the Executive Power, according to whether he had that power or someone else did; a determination not to have a standing army, yet engaging in the War of 1812, and realizing that militias were not sufficient; the willingness to remain friends with a political foe, as in the case of James Monroe.One of the notable points about Madison was his willingness to change the Constitution through amendments although he was initially opposed to change. He even recognized that the Constitution would be interpreted differently over time because of social change. His desire to abolish slavery as an institution, yet his unwillingness to free his slaves. His insistence on the importance of equal representation in the Senate regardless of the size of the population of each state was based on his recognition that the South would be outvoted by the Norltheast's greater population and anti-slavery stance. Currently, we see the voting rights issue determined by a senate that represents fewer people than in the House of Representatives. Even in the 1950s and '60s, the Southern Caucus, then part of the Democratic Party, the senate delayed civil rights until Johnson supported the Voters Rights Bill, when he was aspiring to the presidency. The author shows how the Southern leaders wanted to preserve the rights of the landowners and feared the impact of the merchant class of the Northeast. We still have that opposition between cities and rural areas. Norman describes the tenuousness of the government of the first four presidents and the danger that political divisions posed to the survival of the republic. The book provides an insightful analysis of how the early history of our country, when the fear of returning to a monarchy or an autocratic government was very real. Given the threat to our democracy since this last election, this book is an eye-opener about the current balance of power and resistence to autocracy.