In 1789, as the United States struggled to establish itself as a unified nation, two friends and future presidents found themselves battling each other in the most important congressional election in American history�an election more critical than most presidential races. Hanging in the balance? The Constitution and the fate of a fledgling nation. In Founding Rivals author Chris DeRose tells the never-before-told story of the 1789 congressional election in Virginia�s 5th district and of the two men who fought it: James Madison and James Monroe.Friends and political allies for most of their lives, Monroe and Madison worked together to defeat the British and create the United States of America. Yet their paths diverged after the Philadelphia Convention when they found themselves at odds with each other and on opposite sides of the battle over the Constitution. Madison and Monroe campaigned aggressively and vigorously against each other for a seat in the House of Representatives�and for a chance to shape our nation�s future. Pulling back the curtain on the only congressional race in which two future presidents would compete against each other, DeRose�s Founding Rivals tells the story of the high-stakes political battle in which the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and even the survival of the United States hung in the balance.