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James Madison was the fourth US president, born in Virginia in 1751. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and helped draft the Constitution, earning him the title “Father of the Constitution”. He married Dolley Todd and was president during the War of 1812. He retired to his Virginia estate and died in 1836. Many towns and schools have been named after him.
James Madison (1751-1836), the fourth president of the United States, was born on March 16, 1751. He grew up in Orange County, Virginia and received his education from the College of New Jersey, better known today as Princeton University. Due to his failing health and frequent convulsions, he was disqualified from military service during the Revolution. However, he served briefly with his father in the Orange County militia.
In 1787, James Madison was named one of Virginia’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention. His major contributions to the drafting of this vitally important document have earned him the title of “Father of the Constitution”. However, he has often insisted that he didn’t deserve such an honor. He felt that the Constitution was “the work of many heads and many hands”. To help with the effort to ratify the Constitution, Madison worked with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to prepare The Federalist Papers. Today these essays are considered the most important interpretation of citizens’ rights enshrined in the Constitution.
James Madison married Dorothea Dandridge “Dolley” Payne Todd on September 14, 1794. Although he was considered shy and withdrawn, Dolley was largely considered something of a social butterfly. Indeed, historians credit her with recognizing the First Lady’s role as a political ally of the president.
Madison was elected president of the United States in 1809. The nation’s troubles with the British and the War of 1812 consumed much of his energy during the presidency. At the time, many thought the conflict was America’s second war for independence, even though there was in fact no significant threat to the United States. Unfortunately, many of the country’s top historians now regard his failure to avert war as one of the worst presidential mistakes ever made.
In 1817, James Madison retired from the presidency to spend more time at Montpelier, his Virginia estate. Although Madison had hoped to travel during her retirement, her financial problems and rapidly declining health made that impossible. However, he was briefly a foreign policy adviser to James Monroe and assisted Thomas Jefferson in founding the University of Virginia.
Madison died on June 28, 1836, after being bedridden for nearly a year. At the time of her death, she was the last living signer of the Constitution. In recognition of his many contributions to U.S. history, many towns and schools have been named after this president. This list includes James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and Madison, Wisconsin as well as a number of high schools and small towns scattered throughout the United States.
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