Selections from the Private Correspondence of James Madison 1813 - 1836 by Madison, James - 1859

Washington DC: J. C. McGuire, 1859. First Edition - Exclusively for Private Distribution. Tipped in Statement of Patent dated "14 March 1811, 35th year of the Independence of the US" SIGNED by James Madison & R[obert] S Smith Secretary of State. INSCRIBED presentation copy by Publisher "Presented to / Henry A. Williams / by / Jas C McGuire" on title page, Large quarto in 3/4 red morocco with gilt margins, five raised bands, two panels of lettering on spine in gilt, red pebbled leather cover boards, marbled end papers, many unopened pages. 10.25" x 12.5" [10] 11-419, vi. Leather cover rehabilitated, Most pages have some foxing and light chipping at the edges due to age, but still a significant, historical, attractive, near fine volume which belongs out of the sun in a prominent collection.<br /> <br /> James Madison (1751 - 1836) fourth President of the United States is know as the "Father of the Constitution" for his role in drafting and championing the Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Upon his his completion of two terms as president (1809 - 1817) he continued to espouse his political, philosophical, and encouraging role by being a prolific letter writer. Recipients of these letters include other great Americans: Committee of Cincinnati, Henry Clay, Robert Lee, John Tyler, Martin Van Buren, and Daniel Webster, et. al., Near fine volume, this book belongs on the shelf of a Presidential Collector.<br /> <br /> Upon the death of James Madison, his stepson, John Payne Todd, sold copies of Madison's letters to the Publisher, J. C. Mcquire. It is said that the funds were used to pay off debts of the younger Madison which he incurred through his addictive lifestyle. To Edward Everett (Montpelier, August 1830): "In order to understand the true character of the Constitution of the United States, the error, not uncommon, must be avoided of viewing it through the medium either of a consolidated government or of a confederated government, while it is neither the one nor the other, but a mixture of both. And having in no model the similitude's and analogies applicable of other systems of government, it must, more than any other, be its own interpreter, according to its text and the facts of the case." (p 161).