It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

He served as a politician much of his adult life. Like most of his contemporaries Madison changed his political views during his life. As president (1809–17) after the failure of diplomatic protests and a trade embargo against Great Britain he led the nation into the War of 1812.