James Madison: America’s First Politician

It is surprising that James Madison was so young when he became involved in the Revolutionary War. He had just graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton, and was swept up into debates about constitutions, independence, and how a government should function. Many of his contemporaries were known for their already established careers.

Since the founding of the USA, there have been quite a few, possibly hundreds, of biographies written about the Founding Fathers, with James Madison being one of the most popular due to the notes he kept during the Constitutional Convention, which he was not supposed to do. Biographies should give the reader a sense of why this person is important and what made them tick.

This biography only really meets one of those goals. This is strictly a political biography; you will not get any real information about what Madison was like in his personal life, amongst his family and friends. The vast majority of the story is about his political life and his failure as president during the War of 1812. If someone has already read a biography of Madison, there is little to no new information in this one.