4. James Madison edited his correspondence to preserve his legacy
James Madison was the third president of the so-called Virginia Dynasty and as with the first two, Washington and Jefferson, his service as president significantly reduced his personal fortune. Madison went home to his plantation near Charlottesville, Montpelier, to find that years of mismanagement by his overseers and a drop in the price of tobacco – his primary cash crop – had left him wealthy in land but short of hard money. He returned to public service during the Virginia Constitutional Convention and served as the second rector of the University of Virginia following Jefferson’s death in 1826, a position he held until his own death. He also took steps to control his legacy.
As the nation began to unravel over the issue of slavery and states’ rights, Madison undertook a rewriting of correspondence between others of the founders and himself, including Jefferson. This was established because Jefferson made copies of all his letters using a machine which produced them as they were being written, one of his own invention. Copies of the letters found in Madison’s papers included additions and deletions, forged to mimic Jefferson’s own hand. By the end of his long life Madison’s mental state was perilous, stricken by financial anxieties and the infirmities of age. He died in 1836, and was buried at Montpelier.