Madison, James

During eight years as Jefferson's secretary of state (1801 - 09), Madison used the words �The President has decided� so regularly that his own role can be discovered only in foreign archives. British diplomats dealing with Madison encountered �asperity of temper and fluency of expression.� Senators John Adair and Nicholas Gilman agreed in 1806 that he �governed the President,� an opinion held also by French minister Louis-Marie Turreau.