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Title: James
Madison: A Biography || Author: Ralph Louis
Ketcham || ISDN: 0-81391-265-2 || Released: May
1990 |
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In this, the 250th anniversary year of James Madison's birth
(16 March 1751), I hope people will want to read more, and
know more, about "The Father of the Constitution"
and one of the most important Founding Fathers. And for a
serious, academic treatment (no, it is not 'pop' biography
or 'easy' reading) of Mr. Madison's life, thoughts, beliefs,
and accomplishments - this is the one book to read.
Yes, I happen to work at Montpelier, Mr. Madison's life-long
home and the home that he and his wife Dolley shared during
their marriage - and I can promise you that Dr. Ketcham's
well-worn, tabbed (it looks like a porcupine) book is our
'bible' when it comes to James Madison. There are other,
quite good, books about Madison but this is the one for a
thorough overview, from birth to death.
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Title: The
Last of the Fathers : James Madison and the Republican Legacy
|| Author: Drew R. McCoy || ISDN: 0-52140-772-9 || Released: July
1991 |
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Even though James Madison disliked and publicly condemned slavery,
this slave-owning president and Virginia planter does not get high
marks from most modern historians for his stance on that issue;
indeed, his support for extending slavery into the Western
territories has led some critics to call him a pro-slavery
expansionist. To Harvard historian McCoy, ``the Sage of
Montpelier'' was a prisoner of his republican idealism, tragically
tied to the conventions of his native soil. This apologetic,
revisionist biographical study will stir up controversy among
scholars. For the general reader, its focus on Madison's years of
retirement (from 1817 until his death in 1836) gives us a
prescient sage leery of the ``nullifiers'' who touted states'
inherent right to secede from the union. The mature Madison was
haunted by the specter of an industrializing society faced with
the prospect of mass unemployment and a poor, propertyless
class--problems that plague us today. Illustrations.
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Title: James
Monroe: The Quest for National Identity || Author: Harry
Ammon || ISDN: 0-81391-266-0 || Released:
February 1998 |
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Harry Ammon's work on James Monroe is a refreshing look at a
forgotten patriot. As a Virginian, I have heard most about
Washington, Henry, Jefferson, and Madison. Ammon shows
Monroe as more than the little brother of the Revolutionary
generation, and more than the kickstand for Madison and
Jefferson he is sometimes seen as. Instead, we see a man
who's philosophy of nationalism in defense of the country
differed from his Virginia mentors. Ammon shows Monroe's
unusual modesty for a man of his time. He formed one of the
most remarkable and talented cabinet and proved to be a
strong transition president from the old generation to the
next. Ammon also makes a point to stay even and took points
off Monroe for his lack of action on the economic crisis of
1819 and the Missouri Compromise. Great book on a great
President. We must be remembered that Monroe was the only
man besides George Washington to run for President
unopposed.
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Title: Monroe
: Character in Time : The US Presidents || Author: Lorraine
Ash || ISDN: 1-92940-312-7 || Released: April 1999 |
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America’s fifth President found himself directing "The Era
of Good Feelings," but the appellation would have disturbed
the subject of this play, for he is involved in a momentous
decision threatening to destroy the early American experiment: The
Missouri Compromise. Further, he is beset by an economic
depression which results (ultimately) in a bank panic and yet he
manages to maintain peace in a household seemingly devoted to
social events. His wife Elizabeth directs a "social"
which surrounds an impassioned Henry Clay, a diplomatic William
Crawford, and a President attempting to find middle ground.
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Title: The
Presidency of James Monroe || Author: Noble E
Cunningham Jr. || ISDN: 0-70060-728-5 || Released: January
1996 |
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Filled with new insights and fresh interpretations, this is the
richest study yet published on the presidency of James Monroe, the
last Revolutionary War hero to ascend to that august office. Noble
Cunningham's history of the fifth presidency (1817-25) shows a
young nation beset by growing pains and led by a cautious
politician who had neither the learning nor the intellect of
Jefferson or Madison, but whose actions strengthened both the
United States and the presidency itself. Cunningham makes clear
that the mislabeled "era of good feelings" had more than
its share of crises, including those resulting from revolutions in
Latin America, Spanish possession of Florida, the depression of
1819, and the controversy over slavery in Missouri.
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