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As cited in Ethel Stephens Arnett, Mrs. James Madison: The Incomparable Dolley (Greensboro, N.C., 1972), 119; Dolley Payne Todd Madison to James Madison, 1 Nov. [1805]; Dolley Payne Todd Madison to James Madison, 1 Nov. [ 1805], quoted in Elizabeth Fries Ellet, The Court Circles of the Republic (New York, 1975), 86; Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortland Van Dyke Hubbard, Historic Houses of George-Town and Washington City (Richmond, Va., 1958), 271. Buried in the collection of Dolley Madison's letters and documents that reside at the Library of Congress there is a yellowed piece of paper listing artwork and maps. It is unlikely that Dolley met Melish; it is more probable that James told Dolley about Melish, that the famous cartographer's work was a matter of discussion among their friends, and that she was at least somewhat conversant with his work. See Conover Hunt-Jones, Dolley and the "Great Little Madison" (Washington, D.C., 1977); Margaret Brown Klapthor, Benjamin and Dolley Madison Decorate the White House (Washington, D.C., 1965); Lance Humphries, "The Madisons as Art Collectors and Patrons", in the possession of James Madison's Montpelier; Catherine Allgor, A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (New York, 2006); David B. Mattern and Holly C. Shulman, The Selected Letters of Dolley Payne Madison (Charlottesville, Va., 2003); Humphries, "The Madisons as Art Collectors", 4-5. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the perceived inconsistencies of former U.S. president and member of the U.S. Congress James Madison concerning the U.S. Constitution and the powers of the U.S. federal government, identified by the author as the Madison problem. It examines Madison's views on states' rights, his commitment to civil liberties and individual rights, and the legitimacy of the U.S. government. It discusses Madison's role at the U.S. Constitutional Convention, his contributions to the series of essays known as the Federalist papers, and his view of the Bill of Rights.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses the U.S. President James Madison's presidential papers, the article "Securing a Legacy: The Publication of James Madison's Notes from the Constitutional Convention" by David W. Houpt, and the article "A Constant Attention': Dolley Madison and the Publication of the Papers of James Madison, 1836-1837" by Holly C. Shulman.