MADISON, JAMES. 



MADISON JAMES. 



important, and have 





* ppend * d 



bat r^nsnos SnTby'loS.h'and English authors, 

 ;> "' ZorsaidknlgKt of the Round Table, 1 was edited in 

 Edinbn k KUM * non imnorUntwas 



,-. of London, 1 8 vols. STO. 1847. 

 runs to upwards of thirty-two thousand lines. Sir 

 aid* by tide two entire copies from two manuscript* 

 xe. which exhibit conaiderable variations in language 

 \ad by this lucid arrangement brings before the 

 net instructive way the most interesting monument of 



it illustration. The preparation of this work had 

 ^TesVsnd . T7 long period al~ consumed by the 



f \ , * m w . 7tl_ - At.. 



snimal. of tl.o same sp^es. In 1784 be was again elected to tt 

 egUlature of Virginia, and continued a member of that I 

 irs 1786 and 1786. Here be formed the scheme, and drew up a 

 resolution for that purpose, of inviting the meeting at Annapolis, 

 which led the way to the convention which formed the con.titution of 

 the United States, He wa. one of the three oommusioners from 

 Virginia who assembled at Annapolis, where he met Alexo. 

 i.iiiilton, with whom he was afterwards so closely united in ft 

 he new constitution, and from whom he was so widely separated 

 carrying it into execution. 



While he was in the Virginia legislature he drew up the memona 

 and remonstrance against the project for a compulsory suppor 

 religion, which was perhaps made with a view to a permanent establi.h- 

 ment ; and he succeeded iu defeating it. (Tucker s ' Life of Jefferson, 

 D 4) His talents and acknowledged influence at this tune were 

 all exerted in favour of a policy as liberal as it was practical and ; 

 Finding that Kentucky was determined to separate from % irguus, he 

 furthered her purpose instead of making a fruitless opposition to it 

 He opposed the attempt to introduce paper money ; he was 

 efficient supporter of the laws introduced into the code prepar by 

 Jefferson, Wythe, and Pendleton ; and he favoured the recovery o 

 the debU due to British creditors. He carried on an extensive c 

 respondenee at this time with some four or five friends, which give 

 the bert view of the state of Virginia at that period. In thy. conven- 

 tion which formed the present constitution of the United States he 

 bore a conspicuous part; and anticipating the interest which future 

 times would take iu the proceedings of that body and in the opinions 

 of its members, he was at the pains to keep a record of the debates 

 the only one extant which is either complete or authentic. He com- 

 monly wrote out at night what had been said in the day. After 

 constitution was formed, he united with Alexander Hamilton and 



fall length side by aide, and a mass of research into the early history 

 of the English versions testified to the diligence and learning of the 

 editors. Ft is stated in the preface that a considerable portion of their 

 time during twenty -two years had been spent in accomplishing their task, 

 and to establish the text fifty-five manuscripts had been collated. 



Sir Frederick's other works comprise an interesting volume on the 

 ' Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary afterwards Queen Mary, 

 with a Memoir of the Princess, and Notes,' London, 1831, 8vo ; a 

 work splendidly illustrated by Mr. Shaw on ' Illuminated Ornaments 

 selected from MSS. and early printed books, from the 6th to the 

 17th centuries' (London, 1833, 4to), containing descriptions of some 

 of the choicest treasures of the British Museum, and an abridged trans 

 lation with notes of Silvestre's French work on ' Universal Palaeography, 

 2 vol*. 8ro, 1850. He is also the writer of several communications to 

 the ' Arcbseologia,' one of which, ' Observations on the Autograph o 

 Shaksperv,' is in rapport of the authenticity of the autograph in a 

 copy of Florio's translation of Montaigne's 'Essays, 1 which was 

 purcbaied by the British Museum for a hundred and twenty guinea? 

 Sir Frederick's name is also officially appended to some printed 

 catalogues of portions of the manuscript collections at the museum 

 of which are stated in the prefaces to be made by subordinate 



of hie department. 

 MADISON, JAMES, was born on the 16th of March 17S1, at the 

 seat of hie maternal grandmother, near Port Royal, on the Rappshan 

 Book Hirer in Virginia. Ills parents' home however was then a' 

 MontpcTlier, in Orange County, Virginia, where Mr. Madison alwayi 

 rssklsil. Be received his first instruction from Donald Robertson 

 s Scotch teacher ia King and Queen County, Virginia, with whom he 

 was pUrsd st twelve years of age. During the three or four years 

 last he wss under Robertson', care he acquired some knowledge o 

 Greek, Latin, sad French, with the element, of mathematics. He 

 afterward* stadird shout two yean st home under the Rev. J. Martin 

 ID 17<9 he wae sent to the college of Princeton in New Jersey, where 

 la 1772 be took the degree of B.A. He returned to Virginia in the 

 spring of 1771, sad oooaeneed a course of reading to prepare him 

 eslf far the bar; but the dispute bstween the colonies and Great 

 Mills having then eomoMaeed. be wss soon induced to take an active 

 partial!. He pertieuUHy distinguished himself is a friend to religious 

 Crerdam by abate* la behalf of the preachers of the Baptist per- 

 who were than prosecuted sad occasionally thrown into 



sws. In the spring 



tbeVi 



oflbe WUlature till~1777. when he 

 it is said, of his conscientious refusal 



tOQ, ID ^--f < vm aaew* n n nsjni *! !* aVtUalaU 



-treat the fre.holJm. sooording to the prsotioe then prevailing 

 TbskgJsletarebowerrr named him a member of the council, in which 

 onto* be ooetiaasd two years, until be was appointed a member o 

 soagiess. la whleh body he took hi. seat in the month of March 1780 

 sad b) its tniiirtkep bo took s very active part during the three 

 Tears that be was s aisniDsr of it. 



teraiag to private life after th. pesos, he resumed bis legsl studies, 

 it iateraiiagbd tbsea with isesllsasous and |4iilosophicsl reading 

 staral history, to which the genius of Buflon had then given unn.ua 

 aUractioo. seemed to have been bis tsvourito branch of science, and 



be he. Ml 



would never consent to publish during his lifetime, were purchased by 

 congress for 30,000 dollars, and were published, with ' Letters,' 4c., 

 in three large 8vo volumes in 1840, uuder the editorial care of Mr. 

 H. D. Gilpin. 



After the federal constitution was submitted to the several states for 

 their adoption, Mr. Madison went into the legislature of Virginia, 

 where Patrick Henry headed the opposition to it ; and it was to Mr. 

 Madison's cool and powerful reasoning that its adoption in that state 

 was mainly due. If it had failed there it would have failed altogether. 

 Mr. Madison had also more agency than any other individual iu inducing 

 Virginia to make a cession of all her claims to the lands north-west of 

 the Ohio (now comprehending the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois), 

 to which she asserted a right, both under her regal charters and by 

 conquest during the revolution. 



He was chosen a member of the first congress under the constitution 

 in 1789, and continued a member of that body until 1797. In 1794 he 

 married Mrs. Todd, a widow of Philadelphia, whose parents were 

 Virginians, but, being Quakers, had removed to Philadelphia. From 

 this time be felt the strongest inclination to retire from public life, 

 and to devote himself exclusively to the cultivation of letters and 

 science, and the pursuits of agriculture. But his countrymen appre- 

 ciated bis worth too highly to permit him to retire into private life. 

 In congress no one had more weight personally; but soon finding that 

 his views and those of Mr. Hamilton did not coincide as to the prin- 

 ciples and spirit in which the federal government should be adminis- 

 tered, he separated himself from the administration, and was thus on 

 most great measures in a minority. When the public debt was 

 funded he made an unavailing attempt to secure to the soldiers and 

 other original creditors the benefits of the rise in value of the public 

 claims, which speculators had purchased at about one-eighth of their 

 nominal amount. This was the first great measure in which he 

 opposed the ministerial policy of which Hamilton was the chief 

 author. He also opposed the unqualified assumption of the state debts 

 by the federal government. After the French revolution broke out 

 European politics mingled in those of the United States, and for a 

 time gave them their chief form and colour. Mr. Madison was a warm 

 friend of the revolution ; and it bad his hearty wishes for its success. 



Though thus leading an organised opposition to General Washing- 

 ton's administration, this circumstance for a long time seemed to have 

 no influence on their friendship, and it never produced positive 

 alienation. Before his first term had expired, General Washington, 

 being bent on retirement, conceived the purpose of a farewell address; 

 and, after making an outline of his views, he requested Mr. Madison 

 to fill it up. Some years afterwards he greatly enlarged Mr. Madison's 

 draft, which he then submitted to Messrs. Hamilton and Jay, and the 

 document as published contains some of Mr. Madison's original forms 

 of expression. The intimacy and correspondence of these two great 

 men continued until 1796. 



AfUr it was known that General Washington would retire in Macch 

 1797, parties prepared themselves for the struggle of electing his 

 successor the Federalists uniting in favour of Mr. Adams, and the 

 Republicans in fsvour of Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams succeeded by 

 three votes. When parties were so nearly balanced each redoubled 

 its efforts for the ascendancy. The administration party prepared two 



