Whenever I hear his name, guilt by association steps in, and I think of strawberry cakes. James Madison, our fourth president, was married to Dolley Madison. And of course, “Dolly Madison” cakes are a branch of Hostess. Sometime, in my early goings of things, I was given a package of Dolly Madison strawberry Zingers, and I was incredibly delighted. I think it was a trade at lunchtime, perhaps.
So. When I hear James Madison, I should be thinking, “Father of our Constitution.” Instead, I get strawberry Zingers, loud and clear.
Nonetheless, there he is. It was on this date, December 2, 1812, that he was re-elected President of the United States. Madison did a lot during the early creation of our founding documents and the formation of our Constitution. He also wrote, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the Federalist essays. And he framed the Bill of Rights.
Most of us probably know his general history. But there are other things of interest too.
James Madison was our tiniest president. Yes, just a little fellow. He was sickly, for one thing. To top it off, he was slightly built and stood just 5 feet 4 inches tall. He didn’t even weigh 100 pounds on most days.
There’s more. His voice was so weak that people often had difficulty hearing his speeches. And. He had these “fever attacks” that sort of resembled epilepsy. So the little guy was a mess.
But he was incredibly bright, and everyone who spent any time around him could quickly tell he had a fierce intelligence.
Here’s a tidbit. Madison was Princeton University’s first graduate student.
When he was just 18-year-olds, Madison left his family’s Montpelier plantation to attend the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).
He mopped up there. Madison went through the four-year course in only two years, often sleeping just four hours a night. He would be relentless in reading law and Greek and Roman philosophy. All of this before 1771. Then he continued on with his studies there, hence the first graduate student.
But Madison was timid. Probably an introvert through and through. The wife of a fellow politician once labeled him “the most unsociable creature in existence.”
At least his wife could bake. I’m joking, but not really. Dolley Madison was just the opposite of James. She was the “role model” for all the first ladies to come. The Belle of the Ball. The life of the party. She completely embraced the whole first lady thing and helped define its duties by redecorating the White House. She hosted the first-ever Inaugural Ball.
Finally, Dolley served as the “directress” of an orphanage for young girls. So that started the tradition of first ladies taking on a public outreach project. She had it going on. Outgoing, to say the least.
I know a lot of these introvert / extrovert couples. Trust me.
So, the public must have thought he was doing a fairly decent job, as he was elected to two terms. Yet. As sick as he was, Madison proved to be better off than his vice presidents. His original VP, George Clinton, died in 1812. Clinton’s successor, Elbridge Gerry, suffered a fatal hemorrhage in 1814, just a year and a half after taking the VP office. Madison lost two vice presidents in less than three years and finished his second term without a recognized number two man. Probably no one else wanted the job. Seems a little cursed to me.
As we look back, he is ranked in a decent way. Not the best and not the worst. Of our 46 presidents, Madison draws around a ranking of around 14th, on average, I’d say.
As far as I’m concerned, he’ll always be the strawberry Zinger president, which for a while was number one in my book.
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Philosophy is common sense with big words.
— James Madison
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All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.
— James Madison
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The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
— James Madison
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