“JAMES MADISON: The Father of Religious Liberty,” by Rodney K. Smith, Plain Sight Publishing, $19.99, 384 pages (nf)
Diminutive James Madison, with his soft voice, was known throughout his day as a man with impeccable integrity who was masterful at explaining complex political reasonings. In “James Madison: The Father of Religious Liberty,” author Rodney K. Smith does an outstanding job covering Madison’s life, his beliefs and his strivings to successfully ensure freedom of conscience for the inhabitants of the United States of America.
One of the ways Smith teaches about Madison is by interspersing mini-biographies of many influential people Madison came in contact with. Learning more about how known greats, such as George Washington, James Monroe and Patrick Henry, helped Madison form and mold his own beliefs is a brilliant way of making this history book truly remarkable. Other, lesser-known individuals, like Donald Robertson, Thomas Martin and Philip Freneau, and their interactions with Madison are equally captivating and educational to learn about.
Smith has managed to take a biography and make it a page-turning learning experience that is also highly uplifting. Madison and his contemporaries are fascinating subjects, but Smith goes beyond them to also teach about the political values and worries of the day. He touches on why delegates left the Continental Congress and of the uphill battle it was to get the Constitution accepted. He then goes on to explain why Madison changed from being anti-Bill of Rights to becoming the author of those first 10 amendments.
Finally, Madison’s lifelong quest to ensure American inhabitants had the gift living according to their conscience is a theme that’s continually found throughout this book. Reading about that right, and how ensuring it came about, is a amazing experience.
“James Madison: The Father of Religious Liberty” is a clean, highly uplifting book with nothing offensive in it.
Smith directs Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies. A convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he and his wife have eight children and many grandchildren.
Elizabeth Reid thinks the Great Depression is fascinating, so she earned bachelor’s degrees in both economics and history. A wife and mother, she blogs at agoodreid.blogspot.com.