Title: If men were angels
First published: December 1994
Description: The ever-wary James Madison viewed his fellow citizens as anything but angelic. In this radically new interpretation, Richard Matthews portrays a much less optimistic (and yet more liberal) Madison than we've seen before. Neither civic humanist nor democrat, this Madison is a distrusting, calculating, and pragmatic Machiavellian Prince.

Unlike previous authors, Matthews goes well beyond Madison's work on the Constitution to reconstruct the complete range of Madison's political thought and intellectual development over the course of his extensive life. In the process, he provides a powerful critique of Madisonian politics. It is possible, he shows, to applaud the energy, design, and intellect that went into Madison's thought and simultaneously challenge the assumptions and values upon which that thought rests.
Subjects: Contributions in political science, Political science, Politieke meningen, Political and social views, Madison, james, 1751-1836, United states, politics and government
People: James Madison (1751-1836), James, 1751-1836 Madison
LC classification: JC211.M35 M38 1995