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James Madison Sr. was a Virginia planter and politician who served as a colonel in the American Revolutionary War. He was the father of James Madison, the 4th president of the United States, and owned a large tobacco plantation called Montpelier.
- Early Years
- Father of The Constitution
- Ratifying The Constitution and The Bill of Rights
- Bill of Rights
- Dolley Madison
- James Madison, Secretary of State: 1801-09
- James Madison, Fourth President and The War of 1812
- Final Years
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia, to James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison. The oldest of 12 children, Madison was raised on the family plantation, Montpelier, in Orange County, Virginia. At age 18, Madison left Montpelier to attend the College of New Jersey(now Princeton University). After graduation, Madiso...
After the colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, the Articles of Confederationwere created as the first constitution of the United States. The Articles were ratified in 1781 and gave most of the power to the individual state legislatures who acted more like individual countries than a union. This structure left the national Congress w...
Once the new constitution was written, it needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 states. This was not an easy process, as many states felt the Constitution gave the federal government too much power. Supporters of the Constitution were known as Federalists, while critics were called Anti-Federalists. Madison played a strong role in the ratificatio...
Madison was elected to the newly formed U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from 1789 to 1797. In Congress, he worked to draft the Bill of Rights, a group of 10 amendments to the Constitution that spelled out fundamental rights (such as freedom of speech and religion) held by U.S. citizens. The Bill of Rights was ratified by the states i...
Madison also had a new development in his personal life: In 1794, after a brief courtship, the 43-year-old Madison married 26-year-old Dolley Payne Todd (1768-1849), an outgoing Quaker widow with one son. Dolley’s personality contrasted sharply with that of the quiet, reserved Madison. She loved entertaining and hosted many receptions and dinner pa...
Through the years, Madison’s friendship with Jefferson would continue to thrive. When Jefferson became the third president of the United States, he appointed Madison as secretary of state. In this position, which he held from 1801 to 1809, Madison helped acquire the Louisiana Territory from the French in 1803. The Louisiana Purchasedoubled the size...
In the presidential election of 1808, Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1745-1825) to become the nation’s fourth chief executive. Madison continued to face problems from overseas, as Britain and France had continued their attacks on American ships following the embargo. In addition to impeding U.S. trade, Britain to...
After two terms in office, Madison left Washington, D.C., in 1817, and returned to Montpelier with his wife. Despite the challenges he encountered during his presidency, Madison was respected as a great thinker, communicator and statesman. He remained active in various civic causes, and in 1826 became rector of the University of Virginia, which was...
Learn about James Madison, the fourth U.S. president and the "Father of the Constitution." Find out his early life, political career, achievements and legacy.
Learn about James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and the father of the U.S. Constitution. His father, James Sr., was a slave owner and planter who built Montpelier, the family estate.
James Madison Sr. Nelly Madison James Madison (March 16, 1751 [ b ] – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the 4th president of the United States from 1809 to 1817.
Col. James Madison Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) was a prominent Virginia planter and politician. He was a colonel in the militia during the American Revolutionary War.
In February 1801 Madison Sr. died, leaving Montpelier and more than one hundred slaves to James Madison, as his eldest son. The following week, Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States and appointed Madison as his Secretary of State.
Col. James Madison Sr.(March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) was a prominent Virginia planter and politician who served as a colonel in the Virginia militiaduring the American Revolutionary War.
