San Antonio College Library

A Scots-Irish immigrant, James McHenry determined to make something of his life. Trained as a physician, he joined the American Revolution when war broke out. He then switched to a more military role, serving on the staffs of George Washington and Lafayette. He entered government after the war and served in the Maryland Senate and in the Continental Congress. As Maryland's representative at the Constitutional Convention, McHenry helped to add the...

This volume traces the historical processes in thought by which American political leaders slowly edged away from their complete philosophical rejection of a party and hesitantly began to embrace a party system. The author's analysis of the idea of party and the development of legitimate opposition offers fresh insights into the political crisis of 1797-1801, on the thought of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Martin...

A portrait of the early nineteenth-century president documents his career with the House of Representatives, efforts to create a consolidated national government, role as a diplomat, contributions to foreign policy, and antislavery campaigns.

This work chronicles the President's life, including his role in the battle for religious freedom in Virginia, his contributions to the adoption of the Constitution, and his performance as commander in chief during the War of 1812. James Madison is remembered primarily as a systematic political theorist, but this bookish and unassuming man was also a practical politician who strove for balance in an age of revolution. In this biography, the author...

Chronicles the life and career of the fourth American president, including his work constructing the U.S. Constitution, his role in shaping American politics, his influence on partisan journalism, and his leadership during the War of 1812.

"This comprehensive study examines the War of 1812 in the context of the history of the American republic between 1783 and 1830. The author locates the origins of the war not so mush in the issues traditionally emphasized by historians -- such as the Anglo-American debate on maritime rights -- but rather in James Madison's thinking about the political economy of the British Empire and in his reaction to growing factionalism within the Republican party."--Page...

"This majestic new biography of James Madison explores the astonishing story of a man of vaunted modesty who audaciously changed the world. Among the Founding Fathers, Madison was a true genius of the early republic. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution and crucial to its ratification. His visionary political philosophy and rationale for the union of states--so eloquently presented in The Federalist...

Utilizing the vast amount of source material made available in the last 30 years, Professor Ketcham has captured the essential man in his times and in doing so has made him understandable for us in our own day.

"In this book, Joanne Freeman offers a major reassessment of political culture in the early years of the American republic. By exploring both the public actions and private papers of key figures like Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton, as well as less famous politicians such as Senators William Maclay and William Plumer, Freeman reveals an alien and profoundly unstable political world grounded on the code of honor. In the absence...

"William Tudor, Willard Phillips, and Richard Henry Dana were not their fathers' Federalists. When these young New England intellectuals and their contemporaries attempted to carve out a place for themselves in the rapidly changing and increasingly unfriendly culture of the early nineteenth century, the key to their efforts was the founding, in 1815, of the North American Review." "Raised as Federalists and encouraged to believe that they had special...