November 18, 2013
Drawing extensively on newly available letters, historian Chadwick (Lincoln for President) sketches a colorful portrait of an often neglected presidential couple. Ostensibly a dual biography, Chadwick’s clear focus is Dolley, who, in the eyes of her contemporaries, was a good-natured and attractive woman. Widowed in 1793 at the age of 25, Dolley gained Madison’s attention, and he requested a meeting with her. Always savvy, she engaged some friends to do a thorough background check on him before the meeting. Though Madison was 18 years older, shorter, and reportedly morose, she found him to be quite the opposite, and the couple married on September 15, 1794. While Madison served under Jefferson, Dolley became the White House hostess, helping Jefferson arrange his presidential parties; once ensconced as First Lady, she “raised the level of elegance at the President’s mansion,” and “was seen as a literary light,” though was also very protective of her husband, keeping tabs on those who were “causing unnecessary trouble.” While he weaves the narrative of James Madison’s own stints as secretary of state under Jefferson and his terms as president into Dolley’s story, her strength, wit, sophistication, political ingenuity, and intuition form the core of Chadwick’s affectionate portrait of the woman who helped define the role of First Lady.
November 15, 2013
Another entry in the always-fascinating stories of Dolley and James Madison, showing the broad influence they had on American history. James Madison, the "little man," truly struck gold when he fell for and married Dolley Todd. She was politically well-informed, writes Chadwick (History and Journalism/New Jersey City Univ.; Lincoln for President: An Unlikely Candidate, An Audacious Strategy, and the Victory No One Saw Coming, 2009, etc.), and advanced his views in the social settings for which she was justly famous. She was a dazzling, iconic figure dressed to the nines but in the guise of an ordinary Washington hostess, and she was the social leader for more than 15 years, first as Thomas Jefferson's hostess and then during Madison's terms. Co-founder of the Republican Party in 1791, Madison was a quiet, thoughtful man not given to rash judgments. In opposition, the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, were characterized by statesman William Eustis as having an "overbearing and vindictive spirit." The embargo against the British in response to impressment led the New England shippers to fight Madison at every turn. They railed against "Madison's War" and even held a secession convention in Connecticut. One of the great strengths of this book is the author's attention to the details of life in the growing new city of Washington D.C., as well as at Madison's home in Virginia. Chadwick's explanation of the slave economy versus the new industrial revolution taking place in the North shows how easily the large plantations came to failure. The Madisons' losses were exacerbated by Dolley's son, John Payne, a sociopath who gambled and drank away James Madison's considerable fortune. An enjoyable, gossipy book exploring the birth and the rebirth of the nation.
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May 15, 2014
Prolific author Chadwick (Lincoln for President) has produced a political, social, and military history of James (1751-1836) and Dolley (1768-1849) Madison's time leading up to and following James's presidency (1809-17). He makes an effective argument that James's relationship with his wife made him a more effective politician and certainly a more popular one. This book covers the Madison presidency from a more personal angle, giving perspectives from many letter collections and diaries and highlighting the dynamic social circles that influenced both Dolley and James. VERDICT While it is certainly well researched with almost a thousand footnotes, this work jumps around chronologically, which may bother some readers. If you enjoyed Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, however, this will be a fun read. Scholars of early American history will find this book worthwhile.--Felicia J. Williamson, Sam Houston State Univ. Lib., Huntsville, TX
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