Good morning. Im thrilled to welcome the fifth grade teachers and students and also stubts from Palm Beach Atlantic University and faculty. Thanks for being with us. Dr. Cheney has focused much of her life on teaching children American History so that the next generation can learn from the past. But before i introduce her, we had a surprise guest fly in from wyoming last night. And i would like dr. Cheneys husband of 52 years, dick cheney to please stand up. Vice president cheney. [ applause ] thank you so much for coming. It means a lot to me and a lot to lynne. Well, im honored to introduce this mornings distinguished speaker. And when i called her last year to invite her she said, am i the only speaker to hasnt won a pulitser prize, i said yes, but youre the only speaker who was second lady of the United States of america for eight years. If you google dr. Cheney, you will be blown away by all of her awards and accomplishments. But as always im not going to list all of that. I expect you to do that. But while she was head of neh, she published a report that warned about the failure of schools and institutions of Higher Learning to transmit accurate knowledge about the past to future generations. She said, quote, a system of education that fails to nurture memory of past denies students a great deal. One of the most successful series she funded when she was there was the civil war series by ken burns, which we all loved. And some projects were good and some were not. Dr. Cheney has authored 15 books. Her most recent James Madison, a life reconsidered is a masterful insight to one of the physically smallest of one of the Founding Fathers but 1 of the most towering intellect and certainly the one with the most fun wife. I asked her what she most liked about madison, and she said, gay, i am most fascinated by people who work hard. She compared him to mozart. Both were geniuses. What fascinates her is that for the first 36 years of our republic with the exception of four short years of john adams, the virginia dynasty was in power. Of the 15 books she has written, five of them are history books for children. And we have bought them for all of our grandchildren. And ive read them over and over with the grandchildren, who love them. And ill just mention a few because you might want to performance them. America, a for abigail, tells about the accomplishments of women in america. And, of course, the one that i love the most is when washington crossed the delaware and it tells about the general washington leading his ragtag army across the frozen river christmas night and a surprise attack on the enemy in trenton. It teaches children about courage, heroism, and dedication to your dreams. She was also a baton twirler as a child. She was known across the state of wyoming as flamboyant because her batons were sometimes set aflame at both ends. In 1954, she was wyomings junior champion and in 1956, she won the state senior championship medal. I asked her if he shed be willing to show us a few of her tricks. She said you couldnt pay me enough. Although ive heard that she still might do it for a big charity that is willing to give a lot of money to the charity. Lynn vincent met Young Dick Cheney in high school. The Vice President told me that his father was choosing between two jobs, one was in casper, wyoming, one was in great falls, montana. He said, you know, gay, if we had gone to great falls, montana, i never would have met lynn. She would have met another fellow at high school, fall non love and married him and he would have become the Vice President. Dr. Cheney wrote that high school was the most beautiful building in yoe yeen the most beautiful building in casper. The second most beautiful building was the Carnegie Library which opened in 1910. She said by the time i started going there from 40 winters of hot water heating had worked to combine the scent of varnished wood with the acidic odor of aging books to create a wonderful smell, one that was unique in my experience n the 1950s, it was a haven for kids like lynn vincent who loved books. In this was a different time in the 40s and 50s. A lot of cuus can relate to it. Teens and kids were free to run around and come and go and their juj didnt know where t were or worry. There was no pervasive fear of computers, cell phones blaring something ugly from arent country or the world. There was a feeling of optimism. I invited dr. Cheney to come as the second lady to see 350 students on Constitution Day september 17th. As you know, its the day that celebrates celebrates the adoption of the american constitution and her talk captivated the students. She in turn invited the entire board to come to the Vice President s mansion and as you know resides on the observatory grounds and the ladies were deeply appreciative of the talk she gave us, the tour she gave us and all we learned from her. When i spoke to her a week ago, might not know . Every day do the Miriam Webster vocabulary quizzes on my ipad. Dinlt know they existed. But ever since, i do it every morning. The fascinating fact is that people in their 60s or 70s or higher than those in their 30s andni 40s. As our second lady of the United States dr. Cheney lived at the highest level of national life. But she remained what she grew up to be in wyoming, a curious, hardworking scholar, down to earth, great fun, a beautiful and brilliant woman. The columnist george will calls her lynn is the really indispensable cheney. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome dr. Lynn chainy. Youre taller than i am. Well, thank you for that nice welcome. And let me thank gay for that terrific introduction. I got to get a printed copy, dick, so can you read it a lot. And gay for all of the hard work shes done and for her creative thinking to put this wonderful series of speeches together. So, gay, thank you. And thank all of you for being here today and for lofving the it took me five years to write the book about madison. That is not an excessively long time. I think if you ask your other presenters, its a long process. But when you tell someone who isnt a writer it took you five years, theyre stunned. And after being stunned about how long i spent on the book, theyre stunned that i spent five years on madison. And i completely loved the time i spent working on it. And i explain that i like madison because he wasnt a flamboyant character. He was reserved and he got things done without making a whole lot of fuss about it. And i think that is an achievement to be valued. The folks who are not pushing toward the microphone today are the ones that are just quietly moving ahead and getting things done and, boy, he got a lot done. One thing you will read is he was reserved. He wasnt a hail fellow, you know, ran around patting people on the back. He was so reserved that he there is a man named jornlgd r George Walker who described his first meeting with madison this wafrment the way, the impression made on me was calmness. Madison was talking to james monroe when tucker encountered him. Tucker later wrote its possible he and monroe were discussing 1hz jnf0yc accounted for i. But it was also possible that madison reserved a stern look for strangers. Tucker never perceived madison that way afterwards. He was not tucker was not the only one to note how stern madison could be on first meeting. He gave away nothing to strangers, nothing. And it was often observed adds well that he was very3 public n private, he was witty, known to like madira and appreciate jokes that werent fit for the dining room, the drawing room. I tried to say it fast becausest fifth graders. Once it said his humor left a British Ambassador utterly scandalized. Madison wasnt tall. No more than 56 i said in my book. But as i think about it, 56 was reported by a man who admired him very much and may have exaggerated. 54 maybe a little closer to the mark. He was a nice looking gentleman. Small, compact, nice looking. And he had a receding hairline that he made up for in a very stylish way. He combed his way forward and to a point like this. Now is there anybody in audience that watches blue bloods. Oh, my gosh. Player named detective danny regan. And if you ever watch blue bloods, danny rig r reagan is the one that jumps over a car at least once an episode. Hes played by Donnie Wallberg who as those of who you watched it might guess, combs his hair exactly like James Madison. Now if i ever get the opportunity to do casting for someone writing about the founders, im going to suggest Donnie Wallberg. And im struck time and again when i read about washington how important his physique was to his accomplishment. When Abigail Adams first met him and john had told her about washington she scolded john before she said not preparing herself for the phenomenon that general was, i thought the one half was not told me, she wrote. Benjamin rush, dr. Benjamin rush described washington this way there is not a king in europe that would not look like a valet by his side. What madison, though, lacked in stature, he more than made up for in brains. His presence as jefferson of self possession which placed at ready command the rich resources of his discriminating mind. In my book as gay mentioned, i called madison a genius. This caused some heart burn among some critics. Im happy, however, to stand my ground on that. Madison not only saw the world he was born into, he saw how it could be different. And at age 36, he arrived at the Philadelphia Convention later known as the constitutional convention, full of this idea. And intent on creating a nation from the 13 states such as never had been seen before. Just four years before they had thrown out the rule of Great Britain and went through a rocky time with the articles of confederation. But along comes madison and he is ready to change things. He is ready to make this totally new kind of nation. He imagined a vast republic. Now at that time, anyone thinking about such matters believed that a vast republic was impossible. A little republic maybe, you know, one where all the descends we citizens were a little homogenous but one that covered territory as large as the 13 states was sure to be pulled apart by all the interest and ambitions of its many inhappen tant inhabitants. That was the idea. That a vast republic was impossible and people believed that for a very long time. Madisons insight was to perceive that all those different interests and ambitions that other people had been afraid about that in fact those were crucial to a republic survival. Lashing viewpoints would keep any one view point, even of that a majority from becoming t tyrannical. It is amazing to read about someone that changed the way people think and read further about how important his insight was, how transformtive it was in part because it brought the idea of a republic down to earth. It didnt require a citizenry of selfeffacing angels to make it work. It wouldnt be a place where everyone had to stifle his or her ideas and aspirations for the same of unity. Ordinary people could live there and pursue their dreams it is something that people around the world aspire. Bringing the idea much the extended trouk be extended republic to bear at a time when a great nation was to be created was madisons first act of creative genius. But by no means his last. He more than anyone else would be responsible for the United States of america as we know it today. His time of great achievement came after years of intense focus, deep concentration, and nearly obsessive effort. Behavior that described most lives of genius, isaac newton to mozart. Let me give you an idea of how hard he worked on the runup to the convention in philadelphia. He began an intense study of laws and constitutions. Hed been interested in this idea since he was in his 20s. But with books that jefferson shipped him from paris or jefferson was an envoy, he began this really intense study. And a relative said with the madisons vashgs madisons, virginia is one big cousinry. But he stepped back from this constant socializing that most virginians participated in. And he started working really hard. A relative who came to see him wrote in his diary that madison came to breakfast at which he ate sparingly and then would go to his room until a little before dinner. So while everyone else was riding horses and playing games, madison was in his room working. Now he knew that washingtons presence at the convention could make all the difference. Washington was so admired, so loved by the American People by this time that if he were there at the convention would have a greater chance of success and if he werent so he wrote letter after letter urging the general to attend. He also traveled through a snowstorm, a blizzard really to the Confederation Congress in new york to be sure that Congress People were onboard. He worked really hard. He also left for philadelphia early from new york. In fact, he was the first out of state delegate there. That meant he could greet the other delegates as they arrived and in particular the delegates from virginia. Madison was there early. He brought them all together and all together they produced the virginia plan which as you all know set the agenda for the constitutional convention. During the convention, madison is one of the delegates who spoke most often and he made crucial, criticalibilial interventions. Which the convention was about to write off into the contusion and they had the power to make war, madison stook up and successfully changed it to declare war. Thus making a president commander in chief. Now if you think about it, we would have not ever done so well, im sorry, dick, to mention this if, all the congressmen were in charge of our war, of war, it would not have been successful. So this was a really important intervention. While hes speaking and understanding how important it is to get the words just right, madison was also taking notes. He sat up at the front of the room and wrote the notes out as who said what in shorthanded and then went back to his room at night and transcribed them. I could talk about his central role in getting the constitution ratified, working at breakneck speed to put out the federalist, madison described this effort as having to get the papers to the printer while the printer still working on the last ones. He wrote 40 essays. It was an magz accomplishment. I could also cite work as a leader. Add the bill of rights to the constitution. So i think that mad soins genius was a product of hard work. It was like mozart and newton and einstein. 10 inspiration and 90 perspiration to quote thomas edison. And like mozart, einstein and edison, James Madison changed the world. When he was well, he was very, very well. Traveling 1,000 miles through new york with lafayette. Travel tloug th traveling through that blizzard to new york, indeed getting from montpelier to philadelphia was quite a challenge. His trips were over roads that wouldnt be called roads today. He often traveled in the rain. Im struck by how often it was muddy on those roads. And one time it was worse than that. He was forced to dismantle his carriage, take the whole carriage apart over a swollen pond and then he had to swim his horses across. So this is an extraordinary amount of energy to spend if youre sickly. Now its true that madison had the gastrointestinal problems that plagued almost everyone in the 18th century. This is a time, remember, when people believed that illness was caused by bad air and doctors didnt wash their hands. But in addition to the common ailments of the day, madison suffered from what he calls sudden attacks which he described as somewhat resembling epilepsy and suspending the intellectual functions. Madisons most influential biographer described these attacks as epileptic hiss takra. Epileptic hysteria. In fact, madisons description fits todays understanding of epilepsy. His sudden attacks may well have been complex partial seizures which leave the affected person conscious but with his or her comprehension and ability to communicate impaired with the intellectual function suspended as madison said. Such attacks lasted minutes and may leave the affected person tired and confuse ford a short time after but theyre not necessarily disabling. Nor do they prevent exertion. Madison was lucky enough when terrible things were described, prescribed for epilepsy, mercury, for example, madison was lucky enough to encounter doctors who told him to exercise. What a modern thing to think. Its often recommended to day for people who suffer from epilepsy as he rode and walked over the hills of the virginia piedmont, he became bitter, ready to take 1,000 mile journey with lafayette or to hold office. Now i find Research Like this fascinating. I could happily spend days reading 18th century medical manuals. They make me feel very lucky that we arent prescribing the same remedies to day. But when youre writing a book, you have to ask yourself, is what youre doing important . Does it offer insight into the person youre writing about . And in madisons case, i believe it does. A hype con dree 5 00 or someone given to hysterical episodes is quite different from someone who has an identifiable ailment and manages to achieve greatly in spite of it. Understanding madisons ailment also explains certain things did he and didnt do. He wanted to be a soldier as the revolution was coming on. He wanted to be a rifleman. He was a good shot. He told a friend he could hit the length of a football field with an 18th century weapon. But his military career came to a sudden end when during training he suffered what was likely one of his sudden attacks. Madison had suf madison had several chances to go to europe and always turned them down. I just realized a day or two ago, he was the only one who never set foot out of the United States. Medical manuals of the day recommended that people with epilepsy avoid deep water. Presumably because a seizure could cause you to fall overboard and drown. Thats when jefferson suggested that madison visit him in france. Madison declined. Writing to jefferson that he had some reason to suspect that crossing the sea would be unfriendly to a singular