A first-hand perspective; Wyoming native Lynne Cheney has lived, loved and written history

Posted 9/11/14

But she is also an accomplished and successful author. Her latest book, “James Madison: A Life Reconsidered,” is being hailed as the best book ever written about the fourth president of the United States.

Madison was the fledgling nation’s …

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A first-hand perspective; Wyoming native Lynne Cheney has lived, loved and written history

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Washington, D.C., has been under attack twice in American history. Lynne Cheney lived through one and has written a book that takes a close look at the other.

Cheney, 73, is the wife of former Vice President and Wyoming Congressman Dick Cheney and the mother of Liz Cheney, who briefly sought the Republican nomination for the 2014 Senate race in the state.

But she is also an accomplished and successful author. Her latest book, “James Madison: A Life Reconsidered,” is being hailed as the best book ever written about the fourth president of the United States.

Madison was the fledgling nation’s chief executive when British troops invaded Washington 200 years ago and burned down the White House and the Capitol on Aug. 24, 1814.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Cheney was in the White House when terrorists launched a series of attacks on America, hijacking four planes and flying two of them toward Washington. One crashed into the Pentagon, the other was brought down in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back.

“I do remember when Dick and I took off from the South Lawn of the White House to an undisclosed location,” Cheney said during a telephone interview this summer. “Both of us thought of the War of 1812 and the burning of the White House.”

Cheney first considered writing a book about Madison while serving on a commission to honor the 1987 bicentennial of the Constitution.

“It surely did spur my initial interest,” she said.

People do not pay enough attention to the Constitution compared to the Declaration of Independence, Cheney said. The Constitution is “a magnificent document,” she said, and Madison was instrumental in completing the document and getting it approved and enacted.

He is “vastly under-rated,” Cheney said.

She read a presidential survey in which Madison was ranked behind Grover Cleveland — “which I found appalling.”

Cheney said she came to admire the slight, quiet man known as “Little Jimmy” for his intelligence, abilities and dedication to the nation.

“I certainly did,” she said.

Cheney said no matter how history has judged Madison, he was revered in his time. Americans did not blame him for the British attack on Washington, which was done in part to revenge attacks upon Canadian cities during the War of 1812.

Madison’s reputation was not harmed, Cheney said, even as the nation was outraged by the sacking of the capital city.

Cheney noted that Madison’s departure in 1817 after two terms was a “happy exit from the White House.” He was followed by James Monroe, like Madison, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, a native son of the Old Dominion state.

“The Virginia Dynasty took care of one another,” Cheney said.

Jefferson was Madison’s closest friend and ally but she found him hard to like, she said. Cheney did admit that he was a “brilliant rhetorician” and the Declaration of Independence, of which he was the primary author, is “an amazing piece of prose.”

“There’s always something a little discomforting about his character,” Cheney said, saying that Jefferson seemed fond of “wild schemes” while Madison was more pragmatic and reasonable.

“The contrast is pretty sharp,” Cheney said.

Madison was a gifted writer and was the principal author of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. He co-wrote, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, The Federalist Papers, a series of essays and articles calling for the approval of the Constitution and the creation of a federal government. He was Jefferson’s secretary of state before he was elected president in 1808.

“There are so many places in the early days of the republic where Madison’s voice seems to be bouncing off the walls,” she said.

A president’s human side

“The epilepsy surprised me,” Cheney said. Madison was also a hypochondriac, as she makes plain in the book.

He, like many other Founding Fathers, was a slaveholder but was seen as a “good master,” Cheney said, while recognizing that is a difficult term to use now. He also knew in his heart and mind that slavery was wrong.

His wife, Dolley Madison, was a star during her time and has become a legend in the last two centuries. A robust, outgoing widow who married the slender, bookish Madison, she is widely credited with helping him achieve the presidency.

They were a wonderful team, Cheney said, crediting author Catherine Allgor for her book “A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation.”

“She makes a really good point about how smart Dolley was,” Cheney said.

Dolley Madison is credited with saving many important items when the British advanced upon the White House, including documents, silverware and a large portrait of Washington.

The true story remains shrouded in mystery, with the legend claiming Dolley supervised the painting’s removal while historians now say servants and slaves did the job. In a letter to her sister, Molley said she led the effort to save the portrait.

Cheney said the first lady had “an intuitive understanding” of the power of intertwining myth and history.

“And Dolley, she knew how to tell the story,” she said. “And she knew the importance it will have.”

She appreciates the raves the book has received from The New York Times and The Washington Post, which wrote of her “graceful and balanced” work. Others were also effusive in their praise.

“You always hope you will get good reviews,” Cheney said. She said her decades in and around politics allowed her to take a balanced look at Madison.

“I think you just go into it with the understanding that people are complicated, life is complicated, politics is complicated,” she said. “It’s easier in life as in politics to go with stereotypes.”

Writers cannot be lazy, Cheney said. They need to “dig in,” look for the good and bad in people and events and understand the complexities of life.

Cheney has written biographies, children’s books and novels. It’s been a lifelong passion.

“I do remember writing as a girl,” she said, crediting “terrific teachers” for helping fuel her love for the written word. But she did not intend to spend so much of her life at the keyboard.

“I basically became a writer when I couldn’t get a job with a Ph.D,” she said. “Writing seemed natural to me.”

A lot of women found themselves on the outside looking in, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who could not find a job as a lawyer despite a glittering academic record in law school.

She said when she applied for one job, she was asked if she was married.

“I don’t think a man would have gotten that question,” Cheney said.

Cheney said she is thinking about the subject for her next book.

“I’m still in the experimental stage,” she said.

Cheney said she has considered writing a biography of inventor/scientist Thomas Edison but noted that he is “not a very sympathetic figure.” She may write another book set in the early days of the United States.

“Just because I know these people,” Cheney said. “I really do think I know them.”

She said she has avoided writing books that would possibly hurt her husband and his career.

“I did not want to tackle subjects that would complicate his life or mine,” Cheney said.

But she said her own experiences in politics may have influenced her work.

“I didn’t consciously think that,” she said. “There may be something to it.”

An academic life

Cheney has never sought public office, although she was reportedly considered as a running mate for George W. Bush in 2000. Instead, her husband, who was heading up the search effort, was chosen as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

In 2007, she considered submitting her name as a replacement for the late Sen. Craig Thomas, who had died in office. But in the end, she did not.

Her life has been on the sidelines of politics, offering advice and support, while she pursued an academic career. The Casper native earned a degree in English literature from Colorado College, a master of arts degree from the University of Colorado and a doctorate in 19th century British literature from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

She was the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986-93 and the founder of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which advocates higher education reform and has been involved in other foundations and enterprises over the years.

Cheney even dipped her toe into the media world, co-hosting “Crossfire” on CNN from 1995-98, and writing numerous articles for several publications.

She and her husband, who met in high school, marked their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 29. They spend most of their time with family and friends in Wyoming, she said. Dick Cheney spoke to the Wyoming Bar Association Wednesday night.

“It’s beautiful,” Cheney said of her home state. “We have lifelong friends here.”

Among their longtime friends are Al and Anne Simpson of Cody, although she and Al Simpson had a disagreement over the 2014 Senate campaign that went public last fall. The Cheneys and Simpsons have since said they remain close and supportive of each other.

Dick and Liz Cheney were gone fishing the day Lynne spoke with the Powell Tribune. She said her daughter, who launched a campaign to claim the Republican nomination for Senate from three-term incumbent Mike Enzi, is still looking at public service in Wyoming.

Lynne Cheney said she had no idea what office she may run for but feels she has a lot to offer.

“I think she’s an enormously gifted person,” the proud mother said.

Lynne Cheney

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