James Madison

4 Pages 966 Words

James Madison was perhaps the hardest working & most widely respected man of his day.

Commonly hailed as the Father of our Constitution, Madison had more to do with its

Conception than did any other man. A strong Republican, he was later elected President of the

United States. Born in to an aristocratic family in Port Conway, Virginia, he was the eldest of

12 children. He entered the College of New Jersey in 1769. He graduated in 1771,

Completing a four-year degree in two years. He then studied theology, history, & law, both at

The college & on his own. His public career began in 1774 when he was appointed a member

Of the King George County Committee for Public Safety in Virginia at the age of 23.

Madison spent the rest of his life in service to his nation.


He was a member of the Virginia constitutional committee. Madison supported religious

toleration for the separation of church & state. In this work he found a life-long partner &

friend in Thomas Jefferson.


In 1779 Madison was elected to represent the state of Virginia to the Continental Congress.

Washington & Madison organized the Alexandria Conference in order to settle commercial

dispute between Virginia & Maryland concerning the Potomac River. The conference was a

great success. When the Maryland suggested to include representatives from Pennsylvania,

Delaware, Maryland, & Virginia in order to uniform the commercial system, Madison saw a

larger possibility for scheme. He felt that a meeting of all the states should follow in order to

explore all concerns & to amend the Articles of Confederation. The Annapolis Convention

met in 1786 with a lot of arguing & little result. Only five states attended.They later

persuaded the Continental Congress to modify the Articles of Confederation.

This became the Constitutional Convention, & though George Washington was appointed by

Virginia, James Madison wo...