Remembering James Madison
James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, died at his home in Montpelier, Virginia, on June 28, 1836 (176 years ago today) at the age of 85. Madison was a brilliant and visionary draftsman of the constitution. His record as President is arguably not as brilliant, as he led the nation into the War of 1812, when war might have been avoided with further diplomacy.
Madison's intentions were good. He was responding to British encroachments on American honor and rights and he wanted to end the influence of the British with Indian tribes whose resistance blocked settlement in the midwest. But the war turned out to be an administrative nightmare, as the United States had neither a strong army nor financial system.
But it is his post-presidential life that is of interest, especially how he tried to "correct the record" in his later years. When Madison left office in 1817, he retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia, not far from Thomas Jefferson's home in Monticello. Madison was 65 years old and the plan was for him and his wife Dolley (then 49) to travel to Paris. But like many of his contemporaries, Madison left the presidency a poorer man than when he entered, due to the decline of his plantation, aided by the low price of tobacco and his stepson's mismanagement.
Almost 30 years after Madison's death, his former slave Paul Jennings wrote a memoir entitled "A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison in 1865. Jennings had served Madison from the age of 10 as a footman, and later as a valet for the rest of Madison's life. After Madison's death, Jennings was purchased in 1845 from Dolley Madison by Senator Daniel Webster, who enabled him to gain his freedom. Jennings had the highest respect for Madison and said he never struck a slave, nor permitted an overseer to do so. Jennings said that if a slave misbehaved, Madison would meet with the person privately to try to talk about the behavior.
Madison refused to allow his notes on the Constitutional Convention to be published in his lifetime because he wanted them to bring money to his estate for Dolley's use as his plantation failed. Madison's financial troubles weighed on him, and caused his mental and physical health to deteriorate. In his later years, Madison became extremely concerned about his historic legacy. He took to modifying letters and other documents in his possessions by changing days and dates, adding and deleting words and sentences, and shifting characters. By the time he had reached his late seventies, this "straightening out" had become almost an obsession. For example, he edited a letter written to Thomas Jefferson criticizing the Marquie de Lafayette. Later Madison not only inked out original passages, but allegedly also imitated Jefferson's handwriting as well in making changes.
In 1826, after the death of Jefferson, Madison was appointed as the second Rector (President) of the University of Virginia. He held the position as college chancellor for ten years until his death in 1836. In 1829, at the age of 78, Madison was chosen as a representative to the constitutional convention in Richmond for the revising of the Virginia state constitution. It was his last appearance as a legislator and constitutional drafter. In his later years Madison wrote several memoranda on political subjects, including an essay against the appointment of chaplains for Congress and the armed forces.
Madison was very concerned about the continuing issue of slavery in Virginia and the South. He believed that transportation of free American blacks to Africa offered a solution, as promoted by the American Colonization Society. The British sociologist, Harriet Martineau, visited with Madison during her tour of the United States in 1834. She later descibed his belief that colonization as the solution to slavery as "bizarre and incongruous." Like many African Americans of the time, Madison's slaves wanted to remain in the U.S. where they had been born and believed their work earned them citizenship. They opposed colonization. Between 1834 and 1835, Madison sold 25% of his slaves to make up for financial losses on his plantation.
Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836. He was buried in the Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier.
Madison's intentions were good. He was responding to British encroachments on American honor and rights and he wanted to end the influence of the British with Indian tribes whose resistance blocked settlement in the midwest. But the war turned out to be an administrative nightmare, as the United States had neither a strong army nor financial system.
But it is his post-presidential life that is of interest, especially how he tried to "correct the record" in his later years. When Madison left office in 1817, he retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia, not far from Thomas Jefferson's home in Monticello. Madison was 65 years old and the plan was for him and his wife Dolley (then 49) to travel to Paris. But like many of his contemporaries, Madison left the presidency a poorer man than when he entered, due to the decline of his plantation, aided by the low price of tobacco and his stepson's mismanagement.
Almost 30 years after Madison's death, his former slave Paul Jennings wrote a memoir entitled "A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison in 1865. Jennings had served Madison from the age of 10 as a footman, and later as a valet for the rest of Madison's life. After Madison's death, Jennings was purchased in 1845 from Dolley Madison by Senator Daniel Webster, who enabled him to gain his freedom. Jennings had the highest respect for Madison and said he never struck a slave, nor permitted an overseer to do so. Jennings said that if a slave misbehaved, Madison would meet with the person privately to try to talk about the behavior.
Madison refused to allow his notes on the Constitutional Convention to be published in his lifetime because he wanted them to bring money to his estate for Dolley's use as his plantation failed. Madison's financial troubles weighed on him, and caused his mental and physical health to deteriorate. In his later years, Madison became extremely concerned about his historic legacy. He took to modifying letters and other documents in his possessions by changing days and dates, adding and deleting words and sentences, and shifting characters. By the time he had reached his late seventies, this "straightening out" had become almost an obsession. For example, he edited a letter written to Thomas Jefferson criticizing the Marquie de Lafayette. Later Madison not only inked out original passages, but allegedly also imitated Jefferson's handwriting as well in making changes.
In 1826, after the death of Jefferson, Madison was appointed as the second Rector (President) of the University of Virginia. He held the position as college chancellor for ten years until his death in 1836. In 1829, at the age of 78, Madison was chosen as a representative to the constitutional convention in Richmond for the revising of the Virginia state constitution. It was his last appearance as a legislator and constitutional drafter. In his later years Madison wrote several memoranda on political subjects, including an essay against the appointment of chaplains for Congress and the armed forces.
Madison was very concerned about the continuing issue of slavery in Virginia and the South. He believed that transportation of free American blacks to Africa offered a solution, as promoted by the American Colonization Society. The British sociologist, Harriet Martineau, visited with Madison during her tour of the United States in 1834. She later descibed his belief that colonization as the solution to slavery as "bizarre and incongruous." Like many African Americans of the time, Madison's slaves wanted to remain in the U.S. where they had been born and believed their work earned them citizenship. They opposed colonization. Between 1834 and 1835, Madison sold 25% of his slaves to make up for financial losses on his plantation.
Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836. He was buried in the Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier.