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James Madison Jr. ... Founding Father (Virginia) |
Delegates
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The oldest of 10 children and a
scion of the planter aristocracy, Madison was born in
1751 at Port Conway, King George County, VA, while his
mother was visiting her parents. In a few weeks she
journeyed back with her newborn son to Montpelier
estate, in Orange County, which became his lifelong
home. He received his early education from his mother,
from tutors, and at a private school. An excellent
scholar though frail and sickly in his youth, in 1771 he
graduated from the College of New Jersey (later
Princeton), where he demonstrated special interest in
government and the law. But, considering the ministry
for a career, he stayed on for a year of postgraduate
study in theology. |
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Back at Montpelier, still undecided on a
profession, Madison soon embraced the patriot cause, and state and
local politics absorbed much of his time. In 1775 he served on the
Orange County committee of safety; the next year at the Virginia
convention, which, besides advocating various Revolutionary steps,
framed the Virginia constitution; in 1776-77 in the House of
Delegates; and in 1778-80 in the Council of State. His ill health
precluded any military service.
In 1780 Madison was chosen to represent Virginia in the Continental
Congress (1780-83 and 1786-88). Although originally the youngest
delegate, he played a major role in the deliberations of that body.
Meantime, in the years 1784-86, he had again sat in the Virginia
House of Delegates. He was a guiding force behind the Mount Vernon
Conference (1785), attended the Annapolis Convention (1786), and was
otherwise highly instrumental in the convening of the Constitutional
Convention in 1787. He had also written extensively about
deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation.
Madison was clearly the preeminent figure at the convention. Some of
the delegates favored an authoritarian central government; others,
retention of state sovereignty; and most occupied positions in the
middle of the two extremes. Madison, who was rarely absent and whose
Virginia Plan was in large part the basis of the Constitution,
tirelessly advocated a strong government, though many of his
proposals were rejected. Despite his poor speaking capabilities, he
took the floor more than 150 times, third only after Gouverneur
Morris and James Wilson. Madison was also a member of numerous
committees, the most important of which were those on postponed
matters and style. His journal of the convention is the best single
record of the event. He also played a key part in guiding the
Constitution through the Continental Congress.
Playing a lead in the ratification process in Virginia, too, Madison
defended the document against such powerful opponents as Patrick
Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. In New York, where
Madison was serving in the Continental Congress, he collaborated
with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in a series of essays that in
1787-88 appeared in the newspapers and were soon published in book
form as The Federalist (1788). This set of essays is a classic of
political theory and a lucid exposition of the republican principles
that dominated the framing of the Constitution.
In the U.S. House of Representatives (1789-97), Madison helped frame
and ensure passage of the Bill of Rights. He also assisted in
organizing the executive department and creating a system of federal
taxation. As leaders of the opposition to Hamilton's policies, he
and Jefferson founded the Democratic-Republican Party.
In 1794 Madison married a vivacious widow who was 16 years his
junior, Dolley Payne Todd, who had a son; they were to raise no
children of their own. Madison spent the period 1797-1801 in
semiretirement, but in 1798 he wrote the Virginia Resolutions, which
attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts. While he served as Secretary
of State (1801-9), his wife often served as President Jefferson's
hostess.
In 1809 Madison succeeded Jefferson. Like the first three
Presidents, Madison was enmeshed in the ramifications of European
wars. Diplomacy had failed to prevent the seizure of U.S. ships,
goods, and men on the high seas, and a depression wracked the
country. Madison continued to apply diplomatic techniques and
economic sanctions, eventually effective to some degree against
France. But continued British interference with shipping, as well as
other grievances, led to the War of 1812.
The war, for which the young nation was ill prepared, ended in
stalemate in December 1814 when the inconclusive Treaty of Ghent
which nearly restored prewar conditions, was signed. But, thanks
mainly to Andrew Jackson's spectacular victory at the Battle of New
Orleans (Chalmette) in January 1815, most Americans believed they
had won. Twice tested, independence had survived, and an ebullient
nationalism marked Madison's last years in office, during which
period the Democratic-Republicans held virtually uncontested sway.
In retirement after his second term, Madison managed Montpelier but
continued to be active in public affairs. He devoted long hours to
editing his journal of the Constitutional Convention, which the
government was to publish 4 years after his death. He served as
co-chairman of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1829-30 and
as rector of the University of Virginia during the period 1826-36.
Writing newspaper articles defending the administration of Monroe,
he also acted as his foreign policy adviser.
Madison spoke out, too, against the emerging sectional controversy
that threatened the existence of the Union. Although a slaveholder
all his life, he was active during his later years in the American
Colonization Society, whose mission was the resettlement of slaves
in Africa.
Madison died at the age of 85 in 1836, survived by his wife and
stepson. | |
Information from The National Archives | |
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