Madison stepped down from the Presidency in 1817 and was
succeeded by James Monroe. There was no opposition party;
Monroe was easily elected and reelected. John Quincy Adams,
son of the Federalist John Adams, was Monroe's choice for
Secretary of State and his successor as President.
Madison was active in retirement, serving as Rector of the
University of Virginia (once more succeeding Jefferson), and
as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of
1829-1830. He was President of the American
Colonization Society and he worked long on hours
on his Notes
on the Constitutional Convention which were to
be published after his death. The Notes immediately became
and still remain our primary source of information on the
debates at the Convention.
Despite Madison's apparent frailty, by 1831
he had outlived the other Titans. His comment was:
"It is quite certain that since the
death of Col. Few, I have been the only living signer of the
Constitution of the U. States. Of the members who were present
and who did not sign, and of those who were present part of
the time, but had left the Convention, it is equally certain
that not one has remained since the death of Mr. Lansing…I
happen, also, to be the sole survivor of those who were members
of the Revolutionary Congress prior to the close of the war;
as I had been, for some years, of the members of the Convention
in 1776, which formed the first Constitution for Virginia.
Having outlived so many of my contemporaries, I ought not
to forget that I may be thought to have outlived my self."
— Letter to Jared Sparks,
June 1, 1831 (Madison, 1865, IV, pages 181-182)
He found humor in his age and infirmity. Earlier
that same year he wrote to correspondent that a writer of his
years "will find his arguments, whatever they be, answered
with an 'I wonder how old he is?'" He wrote to Monroe:
"In explanation of my microscopic writing,
I must remark that the older I grow the more my stiffening
fingers make smaller letters, as my feet take shorter steps;
the progress in both cases being, at the same time, more fatiguing
as well as more slow."
— April 21, 1831 (Madison,
1865, IV, page 179)
 |
| Madison as he appeared at 74. Bust from
life mask taken by Henry Browere in 1825 |
Within a few months Monroe also was dead. Madison,
however, continued to write his letters and edit his notes,
dictating to others as his fingers finally gave out. By virtue
of his erudition, his experience, his notes, and his longevity
he was indisputably the leading expert on the great events and
personages of his era: many sought his opinions, his recollections
and his approbation. Despite his advanced age, his mind remained
active and he enjoyed his role as eldest statesman, commenting
on the interpretation of the Constitution and its application
to events of the past and present.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of his retirement
was his felt need to defend the unity of the United States against
the threat posed by Nullification.
John Calhoun of South Carolina had developed the theory of Nullification
in response to high tariffs on imports: these tariffs were thought
to be unfair to the South. Calhoun argued that an individual
state had the right of nullification or veto of Federal law
within its own boundaries and the right of secession. Madison
found his own words from the Virginia Resolutions quoted against
him, and despite his reluctance he was forced into the debate.
The Nullification crisis ended when President Andrew Jackson
made clear his intention to preserve the Union with force, if
necessary, and when a compromise on the tariffs was adopted.
At the same time, Madison's wealth, the wealth
that had made possible his lifetime of scholarship and public
service, was eroding. Dolley's son by her first marriage was
responsible for some of the financial difficulties: Madison
spent a great deal to pay his step-son's debts. The protective
tariffs, whose Constitutionality he upheld, may also have contributed.
However, a more fundamental cause was that the Virginia Piedmont
region was not as fertile as the new lands west of the Appalachian
and could not compete. The value of Madison's land and its produce
plummeted. As Madison wrote in 1832:
"How could it otherwise happen than
that a superabundant offer of more fertile land…in one
quarter should depress the value of the less fertile land
in another quarter? How could it happen otherwise than that
thousands would sell their less productive lands…and
transfer their labour to a region easily accessible, and whence
its trebled fruits would be almost as cheaply transported
to the common market as from the region abandoned? How…could
it fail to happen that these causes should have the impoverishing
effect on the old [lands] which have been experienced from
them?" (Madison,
1865, IV, page 261)
A cause Madison had championed his entire career,
the free transit of the Mississippi, ultimately destroyed his
financial security.
 |
Gravesite of James
Madison:
"MADSION, BORN MARCH 16TH 1751, DIED JUNE 28TH 1836"
Photograph by Mark Sties.
|
James Madison was eighty-five years old at
the time of his death on June 28, 1836. He refused extraordinary
efforts to attempt to extend his life another six days, and
thus declined to join the company of Adams, Jefferson and Monroe
who all had died on the fourth of July. Paul
Jennings paints a poignant picture:
"That morning Sukey brought him his
breakfast, as usual. He could not swallow. His niece, Mrs.
Willis, said, "What is the matter, Uncle Jeames?"
"Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear." His
head instantly dropped, and he ceased breathing as quietly
as the snuff of a candle goes out."
Jefferson had gone to his death loyal to his
country, Virginia. Madison's vision was grander: Madison died
a citizen of the United States. When he wrote his famous "Advice
to My Country," to be opened after his death, his country
was the United States:
"The advice nearest to my heart and
deepest in my convictions is, THAT THE UNION OF THE STATES
BE CHERISHED AND PERPETUATED." (Madison,
1865, IV, following page 436)
Bust photo by Mark Sties in cooperation
with Montpelier, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Madison Gravesite photo by Mark Sties.
