Serpent in Eden : Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America

Between Dissent and Disloyalty traces early America's troubled history of foreign meddling and political conflict through the career of James Madison. Spanning the period from the American Revolution to the War of 1812, it reveals a nation ensnared by partisanship and foreign hostility. Foreign governments exploited party distrust and interfered in U.S. elections to advance their own agendas and weaken the United States. As political hostility mounted, Americans confused dissent with disloyalty, imperiling the United States. As a leading delegate at the Constitutional Convention, Republican congressional leader, secretary of state, and president, Madison grappled with foreign meddling over three decades. At the same time, he emerged as a party leader, feeding the very partisanship that bred foreign intrigues. His career embodies the calamitous barrage of accusations and counteraccusations of foreign collusion that culminated in the War of 1812. Madison left a complicated legacy as a fierce adversary of foreign meddling and determined champion of political debate-but also as a partisan operative who facilitated the first by inflaming the second. Forged in partisan conflict, the United States remains vulnerable to foreign powers that aggravate political discord. Americans continue to test whether the constitutional system Madison was so central in implementing can withstand foreign interference while accommodating intense political hostility. That question remained inconclusive during his lifetime, but his successes and failures, along with his original vision of the Constitution and party politics, may help Americans chart a path away from political hysteria and polarization--

Author: Tyson Reeder

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: Jul 01, 2024

Number of Pages: 441 pages

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

ISBN-10: 0197628591

ISBN-13: 9780197628591