Reviews of Books

Reviewed by Ralph Ketcham, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University

Garry Wills notes at the beginning and at the end of this short book that James Madison's "weak points were a certain provincialism with regard to the rest of the world and a certain naivete with regard to the rest of his fellow human beings" (p. 5). These flaws, together with what Wills concedes were Madison's manifest gifts as a political thinker and earnestly republican officeholder, leave his biographer with what he terms in his opening chapter "The Problem: How to Put Together the Shrewd Constitutionalist and the Hapless Commander in Chief" (p. 2). This sets the theme for Wills's account of Madison's public life, especially his presidency.	1
Wills finds that Madison ranks behind only George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as a founding father, grants that his War of 1812 presidency was overall "truer to its strictures [the Constitution's] than any subsequent war president," and quotes approvingly Justice Joseph Story's claim that he "stood the contest, single-handed, against the conqueror of Europe" and that "the United States had attained a very high character abroad" (pp. 154, 158). All this would seem to contradict Wills's summary of Madison as inept. For example, in discussing Madison's health and his inclination to spend time on his Virginia plantation, Wills blames his "provincialism." It was "nerves" (apparently a psychological condition) and a disinclination to engage with the wider world that prevented him from accepting service overseas. This provincialism also caused him to spend "as much time at his own plantation as he could," even when, before and during the War of 1812, cabinet officers had reported "he was desperately needed" (p. 6) in Washington. In fact, Madison turned down the transatlantic missions because he had been sickly as a youth, continued to have bouts of illness throughout his life, and was genuinely apprehensive about the physical toll of a long sea voyage.	2
Among the Jeffersonian triumvirate Wills terms Madison "the provincial," while Thomas Jefferson was "otherworldly," and Albert Gallatin "the outvoted" (p. 51). None of these tags reflects reality. Rather, they reflect the often deprecatory "New Englandized" view of Jefferson's presidency popularized by John Quincy Adams, Henry Adams, and others. Madison's long residences at Montpelier during his presidency were no different from those of Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, or James Monroe. During the Revolutionary War Madison's more than three years of continuous attendance at the Continental Congress and his record of supporting national objectives and international connections were perhaps the least provincial of any member of that body. While secretary of state, Madison carefully managed the Louisiana Purchase, supported action against the Barbary pirates, designed and sought treaties with all the major European powers, and wrote a learned treatise on international law (using materials in French and correcting Latin translations). This is hardly a "provincial" performance, in sharp contrast to the shallow and uncomprehending outlooks of such genuine provincials as Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Lyndon Johnson, and George W. Bush.	. . .