{"product_id":"james-madison-americas-first-politician-9781541699557","title":"James Madison: America's First Politician","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn intellectual biography of James Madison, arguing that he invented American politics as we know it \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHow do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the \u003ci\u003eFederalist Papers\u003c\/i\u003e and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Jay Cost shows in this incisive new biography, the underlying logic of Madison's seemingly mixed record comes into focus only when we understand him primarily as a working politician. Whereas other founders split their time between politics and other vocations, Madison dedicated himself singularly to the work of politics and ultimately developed it into a distinctly American idiom. He was, in short, the first American politician. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJay Cost \u003c\/b\u003eis a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and has written for the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNational Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eCommentary\u003c\/i\u003e. He holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Chicago. The author of \u003ci\u003eThe Price of Greatness \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eA Republic No More\u003c\/i\u003e, he lives in western Pennsylvania.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50912919781650,"sku":"9781541699557","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f9d5137e-2a15-4570-8c46-95d1e6754b18.jpg?v=1738779125","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/james-madison-americas-first-politician-9781541699557","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}