MADASHECC : Moms' and Dads' Associated Society Helping to Educate Future Conservative Constitutionalists

Today as we left the small and comfortable confines of our favorite cabin getaway, we ventured on a visit to James Madison’s Montpelier. As can be expected, we learned things about James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, that we wouldn’t have known had we never taken the trip.

On the 45 minute drive from our cabin at Montfair Resort Farm in Crozet, VA to Montpelier in Orange, VA, we drove across some of the most beautiful countryside this side of the Mississippi River, and found ourselves even deeper in the Blue Ridge Mountains than we were in our woodsy cabin escape. Being deep in the woods and mountains, it was quite an excursion for us in our comfortable, air conditioned minivan, so I could only imagine what the excursion must have been like for 18th century settlers and 19th century visitors to Montpelier.

Montpelier is where James Madison was born, raised, and eventually died. James Madison’s grandfather acquired the vast land in the 1720s and built a small home about 1/3 of a mile from the current grounds of Montpelier, and this first homestead was called Mount Pleasant. You can still see the indentions in the ground from where the first home and slave quarters stood and it leaves you with a feeling of nostalgia that you would never feel if you never visited.

I have seen Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, and the Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, and now Montpelier. Mount Vernon is modest when compared to Montpelier and the Monticello and as impressed as I was by the Monticello’s architectural genius and beauty, the vast and breathtaking grounds, overlooking the picturesque Blue Ridge mountains of Montpelier far dwarf that of the Monticello’s mountain top landscape.

Yet the two are not mutually exclusive. Jefferson and Madison were very close friends and both had keen interests in not only politics, but also architecture and farming and much of Montpelier’s architecture was influence and by Jefferson’s experience and expertise in that area (Jefferson even lent a hand with some of the additions to the home). In fact, anyone who has seen the Monticello first can recognize Jefferson’s influence right away in Montpelier’s design and construction.

However, it is not just the dwelling that evokes nostalgia in the landmark, but also the rich history that is forever enshrined there as well. For example, it was in the modest library, the center second floor room, that our great nation was born. Madison, being a slight shy man, was not one of loud, overbearing words, but he was a man who studied and profusely read many subjects, but it was because he studied long and hard on the subject of non-monarchical governments that it is we have the sort of governance that we have today. It was Madison’s idea to have a government with three branches and it was his idea that we have checks and balances and a limited central government. It was also at Madison’s insistence that we have a government that promises religious freedom for all and it was Madison’s Virginia Plan that led to the writing of the U.S. Constitution.

How much of this little bit of American History that I have already shared were you, the non-history major, exposed to in high school? How about in College? I can say that most of my American history education began right around the Civil War timeframe (or even right after that time) and most, if not all, of the Revolutionary War history was either glossed over or ignored. And I must ask, why? Why is this so very important time in our nation’s history not being taught to our youth today? How it is possible that we have raised generations of youth who do not understand the importance of our founding and, in many cases, have been taught to disdain our founding? I can go into all sorts of reasons why I think it has happened and I can even quote some research that has pointed to reasons why, and all of these reasons are important to understanding the problem. However; I digress.

Montpelier started as a modest two story house and while in the possession of the Madison family, underwent two additions. At one point it was a duplex meant to house Madison’s parents on one side and his small family on the other. (Madison married his wife Dolley late in life, who had a son of her own when they married). The house remained in the Madison possession until a few years after James’ death, when it and all the Madison family possessions were sold to pay off massive debt.

Who possessed the home from the 1840s to the early 1900s, I don’t remember (and maybe my gracious tour guide never said), but at this time (the early 1900′s) the DuPont family purchased the home and expanded it to about twice the size that it was upon the Madison family sale. This is how the home remained until the last of the DuPont family sold it in the 1980s and until the restoration project began in 2006. At this point the home was in the hands of a historical society (which one, I regrettably cannot remember) which embarked upon a 5 year, $24 million restoration project. In 2008, phase I of the project was completed and Montpelier was successfully restored back to the size and design of the time when Madison died there. Phase II, the phase the project is now in is the archeological phase where they are attempting to find original Madison furnishings and decorations to return to the house. What original pieces they are unable to find will be replaced with period pieces that would have been similar to what would have been fashionable during the time of Madison.

It was exciting to see Madison’s home, restored to its glory from Madison’s time. I don’t think I would have wanted to see it in the fashion of the DuPonts (the bottom image in the picture above). In fact, I was in disbelief at how insensitive the DuPonts had to have been to the historical value of the home in order to alter it so greatly. Such a thing, to me, is sacrilege. You don’t alter such a precious part of our history. I was glad that there, obviously, were many others with my same feelings; otherwise, I wouldn’t have seen Montpelier today as Madison left it, but would have seen the monstrosity that was the DuPont’s home instead.

Besides learning about the history of the house, and of Madison himself, I also learned quite a bit about Dolley Madison and how loved and revered she was by all. She was not just Madison’s wife; she was his equal and was well versed in all of the subjects that he also found dear. She was a fashion trendsetter and a gracious host and when people came to visit, and many did come to visit, they came as much to visit Dolley as they did James. It was Dolley Madison, with the help of her slave, Paul Jennings, who was responsible for removing of the large painting of George Washington that was in the White House during the War of 1812 just before the White House was set of fire by the British. If not for Dolley’s foresight, such a great relic would have surely been lost. After Madison’s death in 1836, Dolley was awarded an honorary Congressional seat, and because of this, upon her own death, was buried in the Congressional cemetery. However, she now rests at Montpelier where she (in my opinion) belongs, right next to James.

I stood in the room where Madison died; just as I stood in the room where Jefferson and Washington died. It is always a surreal experience for me to stand in the very same rooms where such important historical figures once stood. I always try to imagine the people walking from room to room, doing everyday things such as getting up in the morning, eating breakfast, reading the daily journals (and Madison was an avid reader right up until the hour of his death), and having conversations with their spouses or children. Maybe I don’t have a very good imagination, but there is always a part of my mind that simply cannot believe that I am looking at the very same walls that great men such as Madison, Jefferson, and Washington looked at. It’s always a little hard for me to imagine that this home, which is now really just a museum, once witnessed the daily lives of people who actually lived and died here some 200 to 250 years ago. I find myself looking at mundane things, such as the window panes, bricks, and scaffolding and trying to wrap my brain around the reality that this window pane, brick, and scaffolding was here when, and were probably touched by, the original occupants who lived there so very long ago and for whom I hold such great admiration.

Maybe I love history too much, maybe I’m too sentimental, and maybe I’m too romantic. I guess it’s possible. But even if that’s true, I don’t regret any bit of it. I think it’s more of a problem when people view history as something that happened in the past that should stay in the past. I think if more people were sentimental or romantic, or loved history too much, we wouldn’t be fighting the sort of battles we’re fighting today in our nation. I think our children need to not only be taught to learn about history, they must also be taught to understand why history is so important. And I don’t know of any other way to sum it up than to quote of one of my most often uttered quotes: “Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

Long Live the Republic!

Mad Jen

 

Madison’s Temple

The foundation of Mama Madison’s kitchen, which stood outside of her side of the duplex.  (There was an identical one for Dolley on the other side). 

My older son’s Etch-A-Sketch version of Montpelier.