Marion's Blog

A Perfect Union, Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation

I just finished reading Catherine Allgor's book,  A Perfect Union, Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation. Here are a few of things I found interesting:

• One of Dolley Madison's biggest contributions was that she created ways for the men who were the American Government to get things done. In 1800 the congress had no structure or rules. The new government of the U.S. and the men who were a part of it believed that there was only one possible common good and that anyone who didn't agree with their view was wrong. People like John Madison and Thomas Jefferson believed that there should only be only one party in American politics.

"Unfortunately, two different camps believed this. To each one -- the Federalists and the Republicans-- the other party was a "faction," a source of danger and disorder and a very personal as well as national threat.  In such an atmosphere. legislators did not even tolerate a discussion that included difference."

Dolley didn't like conflict. She created friendships with everyone. She brought the politicians who thought of themselves as individuals and enemies together socially. She held weekly gatherings called drawing rooms and everyone was invited.

"In or out of the government, only at Dolley's events could political enemies get to know one another in circumstances that demanded the best of them. Government officials fought physically on the floor of congress, in their boardinghouses, and on the street; but they dared not strike one another with ladies present. ..... If for no other reason than this, the drawing room contributed to the construction of a workable government."

• Two of the things that Thomas Jefferson detested most were " the English and political, intellectual woman."  Elizabeth Merry the English ambassador's wife during the Jefferson administration embodied these things. In contrast Dolley Madison was always very careful to be what woman of the time were expected to be, nurturing, polite and seemingly uninterested in politics. In fact she was a smart and very political woman.

• Picture this :-) On June 1, 1812 when the House of Representatives was debating the resolution to go to war with Britain the Federalist tried to stop the war resolution with a filibuster.

 "The Republicans responded by throwing spittoons, a surprisingly effective move. The sudden clang of metal stopped the speaker in mid-sentence, allowing the Republicans to declare the delaying tactic ended."

• Dolley stayed at the White House until just a few hours before the British marched into Washington and burned the White House. The true story of her staying until the large painting of George Washington had been saved is part of our identity as Americans.

• Dolley created the "unofficial office" of First Lady.

"The First Lady answers the crucial need for the ceremonial in American politics; quite deliberately, the Constitution downplays the role of the ceremonial in its formula for a weak central government, ruled by law and not by personality."

"Ceremonial symbolism, which operates on emotional and psychological levels, unites people. In ordinary times, Dolley's performance supplied a kind of structure that allowed the government to function, unifying (or at least gathering) the branches of government and the individuals within those branches. Dolley also held the nation together in a time of crisis, and, by her ceremonial symbolism, allowed Americans, many of who might never leave the town of their birth, to imagine themselves as part of a larger entity--- as citizens of the United States of America"

• The author, Catherine Allgor is a fascinating woman. According to her biographies and interviews on the web she worked as an actress for eleven years and then went back to school to study history. She attended Mount Holyoke College and then got her PhD from Yale. In a short autobiography in 2000 after her first book Parlor Politics was published she said;

"Being a historian, I am conscious of dates and anniversaries. Holding my first book in my hands this fall would be meaningful moment enough. But it was exactly ten years ago this fall that I sold my stuff, packed up my car and arrived at Mount Holyoke. I had no idea of what "I was going to do when I grew up," had never turned on a computer or written a paper. And now a book"

I thoroughly enjoyed A Perfect Union. After reading so many presidential biographies it was fun to learn about a woman of the same period. Dolley was 8 when the declaration of Independence reached the town she was living in and she lived until 1841 when she died at 81. It was also fascinating to learn the key role she played in creating our country and to think about how many of her lessons and strategies are still relevant today.

John Marshall - Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith.

Last summer I decided to start a project to read at least one biography about each of our presidents. If you would like to read about the books I have read so far just click on the Presidential Reading Project category in the right hand column.  I enjoy learning about history through the lives of the people who lived it. I've enjoyed reading about the first fifty years of the United States so much that even though Marshall was not a president I decided to read John Marshall - Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith. Marshall was chief justice of the U.S. supreme court from 1801 until he died in 1835.

In many ways Marshall created the supreme court. As much as any of our early  presidents he played a key role in defining the meaning of the constitution. In this biography Smith describes Marshall as a gregarious and affable man liked by almost everyone who knew him.

In addition to his 35 years on the Supreme Court Marshall also fought in the revolutionary war and was with Washington during the awful winter at Valley Forge. In the 1790's he represented the U.S.  as a diplomatic envoy to Paris. This was not long after the French revolution  and U.S. relations with France were not good.  In what became known as the XYZ affair the French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand tried  to extract a bribe from the American delegation. Marshall, Pinckney and Gerry refused.

Reading and learning about Marshall has been fun. Smith's book is very readable. The intricacies of  constitutional law as addressed by the supreme court could be a boring subject but Smith's descriptions of Marshall, and the supreme court cases he was involved in are fascinating. I highly recommend this book.

James Monroe - The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon

Just over a year ago I decided to read at least one biography about each U.S. President. So far I have read the following.

• His Excellency George Washington by Joseph-Ellis
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein
• James Madison a Biography by Ralph Ketcham
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 

On my recent road trip I finished reading James Monroe - The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon. Monroe served in the revolutionary war, participated in the formation of the United States, was an ambassador to France, a senator, secretary of state and served from 1817 to 1825 as President of the United States. Reading this book I gained an enormous admiration for Monroe's dedication, his hard work, his intelligence and his leadership.

According to Ammon, Monroe lived in an "age of reticence (and of much prudery as well)....  in Monroe's day it was customary for political figures to destroy papers of a personal character. Only one letter from Monroe to his wife survives, and the only specimens of her hand are in the form of signatures on legal documents..............Therefore, a biography of Monroe must be essentially political in nature"

It is disappointing that nothing can really be written about Monroe's personal life. But I still liked this book. It is a political history of the U.S. during Monroe's life. It is a credit to Ammon that he can make politics so readable.

Five Cities, Six Take Offs and Six Landings and No Ordinary Time - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Last Wednesday I visited six cities on Southwest Airlines. I was I accompanying my sister home from Cleveland where she had a successful revision to her ten year old hip replacement.  We flew from Cleveland to Chicago, to St. Louis, to Tulsa where I dropped her off. Then I flew on on to Phoenix and finally home  to Reno.

I had lots of time to read as we puddle jumped across the U.S. I finished the last 200+ pages of No Ordinary Time - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin. What a great book!

The book provided several learnings and surprises for me. I realized how ignorant I am about the history of prejudice in this country. Although I knew that segregation and racial prejudice were prevalent in the 1940's, I did not really appreciate how bad it was. Black men were only allowed to enlist in the Navy as mess men. In the Army black soldiers were not allowed to fight. Segregation and terrible conditions were the norm. Goodwin summarizes the progress made during the war. "Between 1940 and 1945 the Negro Military Force had increased in size from 5,000 to 920,000 and the number of Negro officers had grown from 5 to over 7,000. Moreover, whereas almost every Negro soldier in 1940 was confined to a service unit, by war's close Negroes held responsible jobs in almost every branch of the army as artillerymen, tankmen, infantrymen,  pilots, paratroopers, doctors and more." When I realize that the young African American men who were being treated so badly as second class citizens during World War II were the peers of my father it gives me some small window of empathy for the feelings that African Americans of my fathers generation must have. I could certainly understand bitterness. It certainly makes me ashamed of our country's history.

No Ordinary Time also gave me a lot of insight into the strengths and weaknesses of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and their relationship. I knew FDR was a great leader. I certainly didn't realize that the war in Europe didn't even start until the very end of his second term. I had some understanding of what an extraordinary woman Eleanor was but I had no idea how hard she worked and what a large contribution she made both to the war effort and to FDR's success.

Eleanor published a newspaper column  "My Day"  from 1935 to 1962. She wrote the column consistently six days a week. When I think of how I can't even manage to write a blog a day it impresses me that she published 400 words every day and never missed a day except for 4 days when FDR died. She was a blogger ahead of her time .

James Madison a Biography by Ralph Ketcham

In August of 2007 I set myself a goal to read at least one biography about each U.S. President. So far I have read the following.

• His Excellency George Washington by Joseph-Ellis
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein

In the blog I wrote about the Jefferson biography I asked if anyone could recommend  the best book to read about James Madison, our fourth President.  I was thrilled to have my question answered by Bernstein, the Jefferson biography author. He said "For Madison, the best large one-volume life is by Ralph Ketcham" I started reading the Madison book in December and just finished it.

Ketcham’s biography of James Madison is a big book (671 pages) but then Madison’s life was big. When I think of all that happened during the span of Madison’s life and all he contributed to our country it inspires me.  Madison lived for 85 years . He is known as the father of the constitution. He was Secretary of State under Jefferson and he was the fourth President of the United States serving two terms from 1809 to 1817. Madison led the country through the war of 1812, the invasion of Washington and the burning of the White House.

The constitutional guarantee of the separation of church and state can at least partly be credited to Madison. In reading Ketcham’s biography I was struck by how important the difference is between religious toleration and the complete freedom of religion that Madison championed.  As a young man Madison witnessed persecution and imprisonment of Baptist preachers for preaching without a license. “His study and the scolding and disputing over the persecutions helped move him from the condescending idea of toleration to the more liberal concept he was to implant in the Virginia Bill of Rights in June 1776.” Pg 57-58. Madison believed strongly that government should have nothing to do with religion. Ketcham says “religious liberty stands out as the one subject upon which Madison took and extreme, absolute, undeviating position throughout his life.” Pg 165

Madison believed that we should learn from the past. Prior to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 he extensively and exhaustively studied the history of republican and  federal government throughout history.  Ketcham said that “Madison’s intense study at Montpelier in 1786, after his sparse breakfasts and before the evening games of whist for half bits, left him as well informed on the workings of confederate governments as any man in America”  Madison compiled his notes on “ the facts and lessons about the ancient and modern confederacies in a booklet of forty-one pocket size pages, easy to use in debate of writing.” pg 184 I like the idea of compiling notes and studying to become an expert.  In a small sense that is what I try to do in this blog.

One of Madison’s big concerns in determining how the federal government should be designed was the tension between majority rule and the idea of inalienable rights. “Was there any way to guard against the majority consenting to a violation of such rights? A positive answer to this question would, in Madison’s mind, solve the fundamental problem of republican government”

I found it awe inspiring to read Ketchum’s description of the Continental Congress and Madison’s central role in the creation of the constitution.

Ketchum’s descriptions of Madison’s personal life were especially interesting to me. I was surprised to learn that Madison didn’t marry his wife Dolley until 1794 when he was 43 years old and had already helped create the constitution. She was a widow seventeen years his junior. Her first husband and her infant son died on the same day during the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The story of Dolley Madison’s role in Madison’s life and especially her role as first lady are a big story in and of themselves. It is amazing to realize that Madison’s life was half over before Dolley even entered his life.

Madison always sought to defend the balance of powers established in the constitution. He was especially concerned about the power of war and peace. Alexander Hamilton’s efforts to expand the executive power alarmed Madison.  Madison’s words on this subject seem prophetic.

“In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department…… It is in war …. that the laurels are to be gathered; and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honourable or venial love of fame are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.”

Madison tried to avoid war with England long after many people believed that it was  a necessity. When the US did go to war in 1812 the country was weak and unprepared. The early part of the war was a disaster of bungling and defeats. Reading about the British invasion of Washington and the burning of the White House is especially frustrating when you realize the ineptitude of the defenders. Ketchum puts it all in perspective saying “ Madison accepted knowingly the liabilities of his republican approach, calmly confident that preserving the nation’s free character was worth some travail and inefficiency. As a result, by 1816 Madison was for more certain than be could possibly have been twenty years earlier that the nature of American government was firmly free, united, and republican, and that the successful conclusion of the war made America’s national independence unassailable.”(pg 605)