James Madison: A Biography

by Ralph Louis Ketcham

Book Overview

The best one volume biography of Madison's life, Ketcham's biography not only traces Madison's career, it gives readers a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that I have been in life I owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that is less rarely on display (including a portrait of the beautiful Dolley...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813912652
• ISBN13: 9780813912653
• Release Date: March 1990
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Length: 760 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

The hidden giant

Ketcham's book is a milestone in history for two reasons: 1) Ketcham had access to Madison material unavailable to previous historians; these materials flesh out our understanding of a founding father who was a unique giant of his time. 2) Ketcham captures Madison from the perspective of how Madison himself spent his time and energy. Ketcham is a true historian, unconcerned with revisionists trying to re-invent our founding fathers. Ketcham emphasizes the issues that Madison himself focused most of his attention on rather than spending an inordinate amount of time as an apologist for Madison trying to dissuade current religious propagandists who misuse Madison for their indoctrinal purposes. Madison is a unique founding father because unlike Washington, a General and mentor to many of the other founders, Madison was one of the primary architects that coalesced various philosophical points of view into a cohesive, unique, set of American ideals. In other words, Madison took the dreams of the founding fathers and crafted them into a reality through his development of the constitution and his documentary defense of that document through his publication of many of The Federalist papers. Ketcham perfectly captures this development from historical philosophy to political maneuvering to the actual ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Ketcham's Madison also provides a steady hand of guidance as President and after retirement to the secularists of his day trying to protect the integrity of the federal constitution from their ideological enemies. Another great attribute of the book is the ease of research regarding subject matter. The book is well end-noted, it also has an excellent index and also indexes by subject matter as well. For example, if you want Madison's views on "philosophy and views", Ketcham provides a subject header and references you to corresponding pages.

Essential reading when trying to understand Madison

As other reviewers have remarked this almost 700-page biography is one not casually approached. Ketcham is readable enough, but his prose is not as accessible to the general public as pop-historians like Ambrose & McCullough. However, given the recent negative publicity surrounding the latter authors' less-than-stellar research makes me think that in the long run, Ketcham has made a more lasting contribution to our understanding of US history than the other authors. One will not find a more comprehensive biography than this. Ketcham was the first researcher to have full access to Madison's papers, and it is clear that he has done his research. The reader would be well-advised to peruse both the endnotes and the bibliography, as they provide a treasure trove of information. Ketcham does an excellent job in demonstrating just how much of a long shot at times the drafting & ratification of the US Constitution was, and if not for the brilliance of Madison (both in conceptualizing the framework of government and in defending it in debates --- one forgets sometimes what an extraordinarily able parliamentarian Madison was), the attempt to reorganize the government might very well have been scuttled by obstructionists such as Patrick Henry. One also appreciates more the fact that not everyone had the same idea on how this new government should constructed, and not everyone was happy with the result. The drafting was the first part --- the ratification was more difficult, and required all of the persuasive powers of the men behind the Constitution, which can be found to great extent in the Federalist Papers. Ketcham does not dwell extensively on the Federalist Papers, using only 10 pages (pp. 239-249) to discuss them. The content of the 85 essays is not analysed (Ketcham apparently assumes the reader is capable of seeking out a copy of the Federalist Papers on his/her own), other than a few of the more notable ones such as #10. It is at this point that Madison begins to emerge as the main "idea man" for the republican philosophy. Having succeeded in giving the US a workable government, Madison is shown by Ketcham leading the fight in Congress against the tendencies of the Federalists towards concentration of federal government power. The gist of Ketcham's biography is that Madison, throughout his life, remained true to the ideals of republicanism, but was not dogmatic about it. Even though Madison opposed the Hamiltonian System in the 1790's, by his second term as President Madison was endorsing a national bank, protective tarriffs, and various internal improvements (although he believe that a constitutional amendment was necessary for the government to develop a system of roads & canals). Ketcham argues that Madison's stands need to be considered in their proper context. The stability of the nation & government was much less in question in 1816 than it was in 1793, and Madison felt that tendencies towards centralization did not p

James Madison: A Biography

James Madison: A Biography written by Ralph Ketcham is a comprehensive fact-filled biography of James Madison our fourth President of the United States from birth to death. Reading this biography for gleamming of facts and tid-bits of Madison's life was clear and succinct, but you feel like you've ridden a horse all day with a sore back. The author knows his subject matter well and captures the essential man and his times, but the writing style hurts.Oh, the story is penetrating and readable, but the author really never answers his own questions and leaves it up to the reader to draw conclusions, which I find to be a style most suited for class lectures, not biographies. I'm sure the author didn't intend the book to be a lecture, but it sure reads like one.Reading on in the book, we get a glimpse of Madison's personality, with his strengths and weaknesses portrayed as the character of Madison begins to unfold. Thoughtfulness of Madison's theory of government are developed in this book and enlightens the reader as to hints of Madison as a political man.The only thing that distracts in this book is the writing style, everything else is spot-on with well documented facts and in one of the most comprehensive biographies on Madison written. If you are looking for biography reading like that of David McCullough in "John Adams" or "Truman" you won't find it here, nor will you be entertained like reading James Thomas Flexner's "George Washington."This is not my first venture in reading about James Madison and I would recommend reading other author/biographers as Madison was a very complex man... a mind that contained libraries, a man that when President seemed feckless, but in later life his wisdom was shinning through. We asked on how to run the government he always recommended reading histoy for the answers.

The BEST single volume biography of Madison!

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.

An in-depth one volume biography

This was a well written biography. It explores the public and private life of the fourth president. The book is a deep one volume work about James Madison. I particularly enjoyed the author's fascinating coverage of the events surrounding Madison's career: For example, there is a great deal to learn here about the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention not only about the role Madison played in them. Not only does the author write about historical events but he also presents interesting accounts of Madison's friendships and antagonistic political relationships. I also finished this book with a good sense about the political climate surrounding Madison's public career. Perhaps the best thing about this book is that it invites further study. The only fault I found worth mentioning was the speculativeness of the first two chapters. Instead of simply writing that we know little about Madison's early life, the author tried to fill in the missing years with his surmises.