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informative guide, and I would like to thank her as well as Jarod Kearney, the curator of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I would also like to acknowledge the generous assistance of Michele R. Lee, the librarian and archivist at Gunston Hall, George Mason’s home, and Judith S. Hynson, director of research and library collections at Stratford Hall, fabled home of the Lees. Thanks as well to archivist Elise Allison at the Greensboro Historical Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Gratitude also to Clive and Susan Duval for having graciously welcomed me into their home, Salona, where Madison is said to have spent the night of August 24, 1814.
    J. C. A. Stagg, David B. Mattern, Ralph Ketcham, Catherine Allgor, and Holly C. Shulman, whose staggering contributions to Madison scholarship are acknowledged in the prologue to this book, were kind enough to read the manuscript, as were Celeste Colgan and Janet Rogers. This outstanding group was wise in its guidance, saved me from mistakes—and any that remain are entirely my own.
    As I described in this book, John Payne Todd, Madison’s stepson, regularly pilfered things from Montpelier and sold them, which is one of the reasons that uncataloged Madison documents remain in private hands. If someone tells you that he or she has a Madison letter, you should listen carefully, as I did to Robert Shannahan, a friend from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Bob, in fact, has two important letters, which he generously shared.
    I want to thank the American Enterprise Institute for supporting my work on James Madison. I would particularly like to acknowledge Arthur C. Brooks, AEI’s dynamic president, and Karlyn Bowman, who in addition to writing insightful articles on public opinion keeps those of us who work in the humanities from disappearing into our libraries. AEI attracts amazing young people to work as research assistants, and two of the best aided me in writing this book. I would like to thank thesmart, creative, and meticulous Hannah Gray, who knows what questions to ask, finds the right answers with astonishing speed, and brings a cheerful, can-do attitude to every task. Indeed, I have yet to find an assignment she cannot fulfill. Here is a prediction: we will all be hearing about Hannah in the future. Her predecessor, Cristina Allegretti, my right-hand person in the first years of writing this book, is sharp, efficient, and organized, with a great eye for detail that will serve her well in the years ahead. I want to thank her for her tireless efforts on this project and congratulate her as she finishes Columbia Business School and launches what I am certain will be a very successful career. I also want to thank the bright and hardworking interns who undertook various tasks: Gabriella Angeloni, Sarah Balakrishnan, Karen Brentano, Rachel Elias, Jeffrey Gerlomes, Elizabeth Gunnell, Julia Harvey, Lauren Hewitt, Margaret Inomata, Christina Johannsen, Steven Lindsay, Annelise Madison, Meredith Manning, Marissa Miller, Cars Paulan, Camille Santrach, and Lindsay Schare.
    I end these acknowledgments by expressing gratitude to my husband, Dick Cheney, first and foremost for his love and support. I also thank him for the longtime front-row seat I have had on congressional and presidential politics. That experience has been invaluable in helping me understand—and I hope convey—what a master of the political arts James Madison was.

N OTES
    A BBREVIATIONS
    Repositories and Collections
    LC Library of Congress.
    LC-GW Library of Congress, George Washington Papers.
    LC-JM Library of Congress, James Madison Papers, series 1, unless otherwise indicated.
    LC-TJ Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Papers, series 1, unless otherwise indicated.
    UVA University of Virginia.
    Abbreviated Titles
    ASP-FR
 
American State Papers,
Foreign Relations
. Edited by Walter Lowrie, Matthew St. Claire Clarke, Walter S. Franklin, Asbury Dickins, and James C. Allen. 6 vols.