Although James Madison is by no means a forgotten man among Americas founding
generation, he is often underappreciated. Much of his work in creating the United
States of America was done behind the scenes, and he was often overshadowed by
his seemingly more impressive (and invariably much taller) colleagues. The shadow of
Jefferson in particular too often leaves Madison less understood than he should be.
Kevin R. C. Gutzmans biography of Americas fourth president aims to shed some
additional light on Madisons crucial role in the early development of the United States.
Madison is best known for his work on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
and for his service as president, but Gutzman finds Madisons most enduring legacy
in his efforts for religious freedom in America. He explores Madisons efforts to shape
the Virginia Declaration of Rights in the states constitutional convention; the young
delegate led the way in enshrining full-throated religious libertarianism (p. 12)
in that document, his first substantial success in shaping the American idea of separating
church and state. Gutzmans Madison is first and foremost a champion of personal
freedom. That he also owned a plantation worked by slaves was not an inconsistency
so much as a nod to practical politics; because complete emancipation was not likely
to be achieved, Madison instead fought for liberal policies on manumission.
Madisons service in his states constitutional convention highlights Gutzmans
account of his early life, and his essay Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious
Assessments looms large in the story of his career in the 1780s. The theme is religious
freedom; Gutzman paints Madison as a sort of religious crusader, though generally a
muted one because he was never really the crusading type.
This theme of religious liberty moves to the background during the Philadelphia
Convention and the ratification debates, where Madison did not push for explicit
protection of religion as he had in the state constitution. This central period in
Madisons career, which (rightfully) spans half of the book, was something of a
departure from his early focus on religious liberty. Nonetheless, Gutzman insists that
Madison was consistent throughout the debate over the Constitution, finding protection
for personal freedom, including religious freedom, in the enumeration of federal
powers and an extensive system of checks and balances. Madisons nationalism played
a role here as well, of course, but the importance of national unity and some centralized
power was always weighed against the potential danger to individual liberty.
Gutzmans analysis of Madisons contributions to The Federalist essays, most of
chapter 4, runs long and feels like a disruption in an otherwise smooth narrative. This
section adds little to the overall argument that Madisons primary contribution was
to the guarantee of religious freedom because he wrote little on the subject in those
essays. It seems odd to suggest that an analysis of The Federalist is not really necessary
in a Madison biography, but that is the case here in the only tedious part of an
otherwise engaging book. The account of the Virginia ratifying convention in chapter 5
is only slightly more useful to the picture that Gutzman is painting of Madison, but it
is much more engaging and more essential to the story. Here we see Madison ready
to fight, in perhaps the most impassioned political performance of his career.
Gutzman places Madison at the center of the debate; though Patrick Henry dominated
the ratifying convention rhetorically, it was Madison who was generally in
control of the conversation. Governor Edmund Randolph played a noteworthy role
in defending the Constitution despite his earlier objections at the end of the convention,
and Gutzman persuasively argues that the governors reversal was due primarily
to Madison, who also helped shape Randolphs new position supporting ratification.
This convention was to be the high point of Madisons career, and Virginias ratification
would remain his most significant contribution to Americas development.
But Madisons work was not done because Virginia, along with several other
states, had recommended that amendments to the Constitution be considered in the
first Congress. Madison was elected to that Congress only because he had promised
to work for amendments. Here Gutzman finds Madison returning to his focus on
liberties as the congressman began work on amendment proposals that were a combination
of ideas suggested during the debates over ratification and his own personal
concerns. Of particular note was Madisons effort to insert an amendment protecting
individuals against states: No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or the
freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases (qtd. on p. 250). The right
of conscience, if Madison had his way, would be protected against both federal
and state governments. Although this amendment was rejected by the House of Representatives, twelve amendments were eventually proposed and ten ratified as a
result of Madisons insistence that Congress take up the subject.
Gutzman notably devotes only thirty-three pages, less than a tenth of the book,
to Madisons presidency; this seemingly important phase of his career is covered in a
single chapter, along with his service as secretary of state (which itself covers about
half as many pages as his presidency). Madisons contributions to the writing and
ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are certainly more important to
American political development than his time as president, but the coverage of his
presidency still seems awfully short. I suspect there are two reasons for this. First,
Madisons time as president was not especially successful. Madison appears far less
impressive as president and even as secretary of state than he does as a congressman.
He was far less physically impressive than his predecessors in that office, and he was
not a strong public speaker. Madison was at his best in mastering large bodies of
data, in synthesizing extensive bodies of information, in wrestling measures through
parliamentary assemblies, writes Gutzman. In the earliest days of his administration,
however, he failed at precisely such a task (p. 304). This failure had much to do
with Madisons view of Congress as the leading branch of government and his belief
that the president should not interfere in congressional decisions any more than is
absolutely necessary (and constitutionally permitted); this view extended as far as the
Senates decisions to confirm or reject the presidents appointments. Even where
Madison clearly had more authority, as in the War of 1812, he compiled a decidedly
mixed record (p. 318) that helps make this section of the book seem anticlimactic
after his distinguished career before 1800.
A second possible reason for the short account of Madisons presidency is that
his term might well be considered an extension of Jeffersons two terms in office.
Madison certainly made no particular effort to break from his predecessor and sometime
mentor in his policies or his approach. (Gutzman notes one exception in the
form of Dolley Madison and offers a short but fascinating account of her role as
The Presidentess [pp. 3056]. More on Dolley would have been a welcome addition
here.) Political realities forced Madison, as they had with Jefferson, to reconsider
some of his earlier positions on constitutional power, and Madison, like Jefferson,
seemed to develop a strong concern for his reputation and legacy. By the end of eight
years in office, he was experiencing wide-ranging buyers remorse over Republican
policies and proposing that the government reconsider some Federalist policies from
the Washington and Adams administrations, including reauthorizing a national bank
(p. 331). By the end of his political career, Madisons humanity became very clear
in that he wanted to have been consistent even when he had not been (p. 350).
Nonetheless, Gutzman offers a picture of a statesman who was consistent more often
than not and who tirelessly worked for individual liberty and against tyranny throughout
It is common for biographers to slip into moments of hagiography, and Madison
makes for such an endearing subject. Madisons role in winning the American Revolution is somewhat overstated, and Gutzman at times seems to give Madison too
much credit too soon. Though Madison was instrumental in getting a national
convention together at Philadelphia and even in convincing certain delegates (notably
George Washington) to attend, these accomplishments were perhaps less heroic and
more prosaic than any biographer might portray them. To suggest that credit for
The Federalist was largely Madisons (p. 336) goes a bit too far, given that Madison
wrote only about one-third of the essays (though that portion did include many
of the most impressive among them). Nevertheless, the at times excessive praise of
Madison does not get in the way of an otherwise fairly objective account of his
admirable but less than perfect political career.
Altogether this biography is impressive, praising Madison without concealing his
flaws, explaining his ideas and actions within the context of the times in which he
lived, and offering an insightful glimpse into the world of the American founding
through the eyes of one of its keenest observers.