Madison’s gift -five partnerships that built America by David O Stewart
This one is a gem folks. Published in 2015 Ifyou put the title and author on your search enginem get the book for five bucks. I found mine for two bucks at the goodwill in Rochester Minnesota also if you have a big enough local library they might have it still for free.
In a popularity and awareness ranking of the well-known names of the founding fathers of our Republic James Madison would likely be at the bottom of the list. He was quite short bald and certainly not the tall Studley athletic military man that George Washington was. Nor a powerful orator and debater Like Hamilton . It was Jefferson the brilliant, writer politician and who wrote the Declaration of Independence. The fourth partner was another military man, friend and sometime opponent James Monroe who had Madison’s back when a defenseless, broke & not very united group of states took on the mighty English Monarchy for a second time. Madison was president and when the English destroyed the new American capital city including White House and burned the new capital building down to the ground in the war of 1812. In the history texts on that war Madison gets much of the blame for all the defeats as he was not much of a military leader but instead it was his late to marry widowed Dolly Todd who gets the positive notice. Nor amazing persona like his wife Dolly lit up everyone came into her presence and could influence crowds of people . IA beautiful talented and amazing woman the author gives Dolly Madison In an extra chapter His account of her partnership and support of James
In a nutshell what made this small modest not very visible man so important? It was his brain and his ability to pair with the more Outgoing men and one woman aforementioned To discuss advise suggest and help them use their skills and his insights and organize a bunch of bickering former colonies/states into the only Republic I. E. Democracy existing at that time in a world run by kings and queens. To Find A Republic one would have to go back to that of Rome and for democracy to the ancient Greeks in Athens.
As I write this introduction and review I wondered to myself what it was that brought me to pluck this particular history book off the shelves at the goodwill. The books aren’t categorized there particularly but there’s usually a lot of my favorite escape reading which would be fiction specifically mystery detectives stories. The author of the Madison’s gift David Stewart was unknown to me. Of course a former history teacher I knew the names of Many of the good Historians. The American Revolution and the founding of our Republic is a fascinating subject to say the least Republic, democracy destroying our national capital all of the above are in the news these days and under threat. It was then that I wondered what James Madison had to say about these issues as he debated what form a stronger more viable American system would require to survive and prosper. The pros and cons were debated at the convention in Philadelphia, Just as they are now. the Constitution was developed and sent to the various states be approved or turned down Washington presided to keep order . Each state had a choice to makeAnd the approval of a strong constitution became a fierce political debate. Lincoln's words before the Civil War were appropriate here a nation a house divided cannot stand
each chapter in the book is based upon one of the five partnerships that Madison made with the leaders that built America. Which is to say the Constitution that is under attack by next president and await extremist groups that lead the charge I can’t stress this enough that reading this book would be well worth your timeTwo of the founding fathers wrote a serious of editorials called the Federalist papers whichAdvocated ratification of the new Constitution they were Madison and Hamilton. The host stood and still does the oil slaveowner Madison predicted that a crisis in the future would eventually them merge as political parties did and sectional differences over the issue of slaveryThere are a number of quotes from Madison's speeches and letters in this fascinating book. I think many of them are relevant to today's political divisions in crisis for those reasons this excellent history is well worth your time make the efffort tto find it in your public library and on the Internet
Thursday, June 23, 2022