James Madison

James Madison married quite late in life. At the age of 43, he married a 26 year old widow, Dolley Payne Todd, in 1794. He adopted his wife’s only son upon their marriage. Dolley was a charming and sociable lady who added to the popularity of Madison when he was the president.

Madison died on June 28, 1836, at the age of 85.

As part of the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution in 1986, the Congress created the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation.

James Madison, Jr. was born on March 16, 1751, in Virginia as the eldest child of James Sr. and his wife Nelly. He had 11 siblings. His father was a wealthy tobacco planter.

He received a good education in Latin, Greek, science, geography, mathematics, rhetoric, and philosophy from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, from where he graduated in 1771. He remained at the college even after graduation and studied Hebrew, political philosophy, and law.

He served in the Virginia state legislature from 1776 to 1779 during the American Revolutionary War over the course of which he became a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. Soon Madison became a prominent presence in Virginia politics.

He assisted Jefferson in drafting the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which was finally passed in 1786. The very next year, he represented Virginia at the Constitution Convention where he wrote the Virginia Plan as an outline for a possible future constitution.

After the drafting of the constitution, Madison played a pivotal role in the movement to ratify it. He collaborated with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to produce ‘The Federalist Papers’ in 1788 which was circulated in New York in support of the constitution.

He became a leader in the new House of Representatives in 1789. He drafted many laws during his tenure, the most significant of which were the Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the Constitution. He called for freedom of speech and proposed public and speedy trials for those faced with charges, among other amendments.

His mentor Thomas Jefferson became the President of the United States in 1801 and he selected Madison to serve as the Secretary of State, a post he would hold for the entire tenure of Jefferson’s presidency.

James Madison is best remembered as the “Father of the Constitution” for the instrumental role he played in drafting of the United States Constitution—the supreme law of the United States of America. He also drafted the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government.