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Thomas Jefferson
James Madison was a member of the Founding Fathers and the fourth president of the United States, though the book does not cover his presidency. Madison was born into a wealthy slaveholding family in Virginia and went on to attend Princeton. He was small, weak, and often unwell, and predicted that he would die young, although he lived to the age of 85. Unlike many of the other Founding Fathers, Madison was calm and shy, with little rhetorical skill. However, Ellis argues that this actually helped his political career, as it made those around him trust him as a voice of reason. The pivotal role he played in the Constitutional Convention earned him the nickname “Father of the Constitution.” He coauthored The Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, but later rejected Federalism on the grounds that it was a corruption of revolutionary values. He was a talented negotiator, having helped facilitate agreements such as the Compromise of 1790.
James Madison Quotes in Founding Brothers
The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by James Madison or refer to James Madison. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
In fact, Jefferson’s headache coincided with a veritable plague that seemed to descend on the leadership of the Virginia dynasty. Madison was laid up with dysentery, Edmund Randolph remained in Virginia to care for his wife, who had nearly died delivering a stillborn baby, and, most ominously of all, George Washington came down with the flu and developed pulmonary complications that the physicians considered life-threatening. "You cannot conceive the public alarm on this occasion," Jefferson reported to William Short, his former secretary in Paris, adding that Washington's demise would in all probability have meant the abrupt end of the whole national experiment.
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The permanent residence of the capital on the Potomac institutionalized political values designed to carry the nation in a fundamentally different direction. It was also symbolic in a personal sense for Jefferson and Madison. For the Compromise of 1790 signaled the resumption of their political partnership after five years of separation. Now, “the great collaboration" was truly an alliance worthy of its name.
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James Madison Quotes in Founding Brothers
The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by James Madison or refer to James Madison. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
In fact, Jefferson’s headache coincided with a veritable plague that seemed to descend on the leadership of the Virginia dynasty. Madison was laid up with dysentery, Edmund Randolph remained in Virginia to care for his wife, who had nearly died delivering a stillborn baby, and, most ominously of all, George Washington came down with the flu and developed pulmonary complications that the physicians considered life-threatening. "You cannot conceive the public alarm on this occasion," Jefferson reported to William Short, his former secretary in Paris, adding that Washington's demise would in all probability have meant the abrupt end of the whole national experiment.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The permanent residence of the capital on the Potomac institutionalized political values designed to carry the nation in a fundamentally different direction. It was also symbolic in a personal sense for Jefferson and Madison. For the Compromise of 1790 signaled the resumption of their political partnership after five years of separation. Now, “the great collaboration" was truly an alliance worthy of its name.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
