Papers of James Madison
Papers of James Madison

Madison's Career

Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American RepublicTo learn about Madison's intellectual preparation for the Constitutional Convention, see William Lee Miller, The Business of May Next: James Madison and the Founding (Charlottesville, Va., 1992).

For a careful assessment of Madison's tenure as U.S. president, see Robert A. Rutland, The Presidency of James Madison (Lawrence, Kans., 1990).

For a thorough study of Madison's conduct of the War of 1812, see J. C. A. Stagg, Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American Republic, 1783-1830 (Princeton, N.J., 1983).

For a wonderfully written and engaging look at Madison's retirement years, see Drew R. McCoy, The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy (New York, 1989).

Among the many twenty-first-century works on this topic, we recommend:

cover of Reeder, Serpent in Eden
  • Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention (Cambridge, Mass., 2015)
  • James Cost, James Madison: America’s First Politician (New York, 2021)
  • Tyson Reeder, Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America (New York, 2024)