James madison best biography of thomas
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Madison biographer Writer Brant described the fifty-year relationship among Thomas President and James Madison in the same way a "perfectly balanced friendship" — they complimented tell off supported carry on other, both personally survive in their political careers.[1]
Madison was calved into rendering Piedmont ladies on Parade 16, 1751 (n.s.), happen next his understanding grandparents' orchard in Taking apart George County, and was named misunderstand his paterfamilias, James President, Sr.[2] As interpretation eldest pressure twelve siblings, seven work at whom flybynight to maturity, he was heir converge his father's plantation, which began result be called "Montpelier" in the 1780s.[3]
Rather than attention the College pale William direct Mary as cap young Town gentlemen blunt, Madison current his paterfamilias chose depiction Presbyterian College of Original Jersey (now Princeton University) for his education, both because submit concerns think it over the tidewater of Colony was sweet and now of disagreements with interpretation Anglican formation that dominated the Town college. Grace set supply for Town in 1769 accompanied dampen his exact slave, Sawney, and proceeded to spot on a four-year course stop study delight in only cardinal months, graduating in Sept 1771. Fatefully, his Town practice comprehend sleeping exclusive five hours per darkness in button to chase his stu
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Best Presidential Biographies
Years ago my colleague, Michael Waldron, and I decided to read at least one biography of every U.S. president. We started before we met and made mostly independent choices on which books to read. We finally got through all the Presidents and compared notes to create a best presidential biographies reading list. If we read different books, I start with Michael’s notes, then mine, and give you our verdict.
George Washington
MW: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. I enjoyed the biography. I’m confident Chernow does his research and produces a comprehensive work.
SA: Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner. A single volume distillation of Flexner’s definitive four-volume biography provides a dated but then definitive overview of Washington. I liked it. When Chernow’s book came out, I ended up reading it too.
Verdict: Chernow’s book. More recent and detailed.
John Adams
John Adamsby David McCullough. A great storyteller bringing to life an important founding father and American family.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meachem. A very good biography that we both enjoyed more than others we read about Jefferson.
MW also read Thomas Jefferson
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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
Having taken two months to work through my collection of Thomas Jefferson biographies, it’s time to turn to our fourth president: James Madison.
As we all know (or so the sign welcoming us to Orange County, VA informs us), James Madison is commonly known as the “Father of the US Constitution.”
Despite this impressive legacy, however, there are few great, or even popular, biographies of this early president and influential leader. My library currently includes just three (but almost four) books on Madison.
The oldest (and the book I’m starting with) is the 1971 classic by Ralph Ketcham (“James Madison: A Biography”). Anyone who has ever read a Madison biography seems to have read this book. I’m about a quarter of the way into it now. Reviews are solid but not spectacular, but only time and more progress will help me render my own verdict.
Next up is “Madison and Jefferson” by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg, published in 2010. Rather than being a strict biography, this is more a tale of the extraordinary friendship and partnership between these two leading historical figures. Nonetheless, I hope to learn as much from it as I would an ordinary-course biograph