As Madison wrote, 'a crisis had arrived which was to decide whether the American experiment was to be a blessing to the world, or to blast for ever the hopes which the republican cause had inspired.' He committed to an intense study of law and political theory, and was heavily influenced by Enlightenment texts sent by Jefferson from France. For the next two years, Madison did most of the job of Secretary of State, due to Robert Smith's incompetence. After bitter party contention, Madison finally replaced Smith with Monroe in April 2011.The remaining members of Madison's Cabinet were chosen for the purposes of national interest and political harmony, and were largely unremarkable or incompetent. With a Cabinet full of those he distrusted, Madison rarely called Cabinet meetings and instead frequently consulted with Gallatin alone.
Robert Smith's Robert Smith's|Monroe Monroe
Robert Smith's Robert Smith's|Monroe Monroe