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The History of the USA During the First Term of James Madison

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I found this link to Henry Adams History of the United States of America During the First Term of James Madison.  It was too big for the title link.  Adams' books on Madison have been bound into a single volume by the Library of America.  I liked Wills discussion of this text in his book on Henry Adams, as Wills has a deep understanding of this tumultuous time in American History.  Madison and the US liked to think of itself as a major player, but as far as England and France were concerned, or for that matter Spain, the US was incidental to the events taking place in Europe.  Of course, the US would eventually get the last laugh.

Comments

  1. avrdsJanuary 19, 2010 at 3:03 AM

    Thanks for this link, Gintaras. I'll use this and Wood until my book arrives. I made the mistake of ordering it with Game Change and it's currently out of stock (already). Must be quite the book!

    In Revolutionary Characters, Wood talks about the "Madison problem" -- which as I recall relates to how to reconcile his anti-democratic feelings towards the states.

    But sounds like Wills is dealing with more international questions, so I'll have to see what Adams says.

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  2. James FergusonJanuary 19, 2010 at 9:15 AM

    Wills definitely takes the broader view here, focusing heavily on the War of 1812, often to comic effect. Young America was lucky to have come out of that war in one piece.

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