The Papers of James Madison: 1 March 1802-6 October 1802

James Madison

University of Virginia Press, 1995 - History - 657 pages

The Papers of James Madison project, housed at the University of Virginia, was established in 1956 to publish annotated volumes of the correspondence and writings of James Madison, the Virginia statesman most often remembered for his public service as "Father of the Constitution" and as fourth president of the United States.

The published volumes provide accurate texts of Madison's incoming and outgoing correspondence, informative notes on textual and subject matters, and comprehensive indexes. They are incomparably rich sources for students of Madison's life and valuable research tools for those interested in the general history of the period in which Madison lived (1751-1836).

The project has collected more than 27,000 copies of documents related to Madison's life, including letters, essays, notes, diaries, account books, ledgers, wills, legal papers, and inventories. The project serves the public by translating into print these decaying and often nearly illegible manuscripts, thereby preserving them for future generations and making them easier to use. The published volumes also make the contents of Madison-related documents--the originals of which are housed in some 250 archives worldwide--easily accessible to libraries and interested individuals anywhere books travel.

The Secretary of State Series documents Madison's diplomatic and political career in the two administrations of Thomas Jefferson, 1801-9, during which he oversaw the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase and the integration of those territories into the United States and attempted to maintain a viable neutrality for the United States vis-à-vis warring France and Great Britain. As secretary of state, Madison presided over one of the busiest offices in Washington. He was responsible for the Patent Office, issued all federal commissions, saw that the public laws were put into print, and served as the official liaison between the president and the governors of states and territories. Most important for these volumes, Madison was the addressee of diplomatic pouches and letters from five ministers and over fifty consuls worldwide, as well as about a dozen commissioners.

About the author

James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, was born at Port Conway, Virginia. He was raised on a large family farm, called Montpelier, which remained his home throughout his life. After receiving a boarding school education, he entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), from which he graduated in 1771. In 1776, Madison was elected a delegate to the Virginia Revolutionary Convention, where he was a strong advocate of religious freedom. He then became a Virginia legislator. As delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he became the chief architect of the U.S. Constitution and, later, of the Bill of Rights. Madison served in the first Congress from 1789 to 1797, rising to the position of Speaker of the House. In 1801, he became Secretary of State in the administration of Thomas Jefferson, and in 1809, he was elected president. Madison's insights on the nature of politics and the operations of government are as relevant today as they were in his time. His journals provide our principal source of knowledge about the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He also shared the authorship of "The Federalist Papers" (1787-88), arguably the most significant American contribution to political theory, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. His insights into political behavior (such as Federalist paper number 10 on the subject of factions) and the nature of government (Federalist papers numbers 39 and 51 on the allocation of power) continue to be useful for those who seek to write constitutions for new governments today.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Papers of James Madison: 1 March 1802-6 October 1802; Volume 3 of Papers of James Madison. Secretary of State; Issue 3 of Secretary of State Series; The Papers of James Madison: Secretary of State Series. Vol. 3, 1 March-6 October 1802, David B. Mattern
• Author: James Madison
• Editors: David B. Mattern, John Stagg, Susan Holbrook Perdue, Jeanne Kerr Cross
• Edition: illustrated, annotated
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press, 1995
• ISBN: 0813915414, 9780813915418
• Length: 657 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / 19th Century