A Contextual Contradiction: James Madison and Slavery in Revolutionary Virginia and Retirement

Abstract

This research contrasts James Madison’s perception of slavery during the Revolutionary War and the years following his retirement from public service through his personal correspondence. Most of the historical research done on Madison emphasizes his work on the Constitution and tenure as President of the United States. This paper eschews those periods and instead favors the timeframes when Madison was able to engage with slavery not as a political institution, but as a moral dilemma, social danger, and significant cultural and economic institution in Virginia. Ultimately, Madison’s perception of slavery during the Revolutionary War depended on its contextual basis as it related to larger social implications in Virginia. Madison expressed anti-slavery sentiments when slavery threatened Virginia’s safety or undercut the Revolution’s driving principle of liberty but was much more conservative when writing about his own family’s slaves at Montpelier. In retirement, Madison was wedded to the idea of emancipation in tandem with colonization and became much more conscious of the synonymous relationship between race and slavery in 19th century America. This paper examines the nuances of what it meant to be anti-slavery in Madison’s America and confronts one of our country’s most venerated Founding Father’s complicated history with slavery. Madison’s history, much like the history of America as a whole, contains moments of brilliance, moments of shortcoming, moments that must be praised, and moments that must be condemned.