The Life of James Madison Junior

Hey everyone!! Sorry about the late post. I got sick last week and missed a day of school, so I will be posting history papers on Tuesdays instead of Saturdays now. Here's my latest one, hope you enjoy it!

The Life of James Madison Junior

James Madison Junior was born at Port Conway, King George County, Virginia, in 1751. He was educated at home by his mother early on, then attended the College of New Jersey, graduating in 1771. He stayed at the college for a year after his graduation to learn theology. 

 

Madison was deeply involved in government work for most of his life. He served on the Orange County Committee of Safety in 1775. A year later, in 1776, he attended the Virginia Convention, at which place he helped frame the state of Virginia's Constitution. He also served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1776-1777, and again from 1784-1786. 

 

From 1778-1780 he was part of the Virginia Council of State. He was the main force behind the Mount Vernon Conference, which met to discuss state matters. He attended the Annapolis Convention, which met in 1786, and in 1789 was involved in the Congressional Committee. 

 

When the Continental Congress met in 1780-1783 and again in 1786-1788, Madison was chosen to represent Virginia and was an important part of helping to develop the Constitution. He also led Virginia to ratify the Constitution and wrote part of the book The Federalist. The Federalist was a series of papers to explain the purpose of the Constitution to the states and to convince the uncertain states to ratify it. Alexander Hamilton and John Jay helped Madison write the series. They were countered by the Anti-Federalists, who were stressing the importance of limiting federal government.

In 1788, he opposed the developing Bill of Rights and presented his own version. However, he eventually saw that he was wrong and helped to create and pass the Bill of Rights, which took from 1789-1797. 

 

From 1801-1809, he served as the Secretary of State, then was elected to be the fourth President of the United States, and he served in that capacity from 1809-1817. While president, in 1812 he declared war on Britain for impressing, or taking by force, sailors from American ships and making them serve on British ships. Several years after he had finished his two terms as president, he attended the Virginia Constitutional Convention, which lasted from 1829-1830. 

 

Aside from government business, he wrote about deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. In 1798 he also wrote the Virginia Resolutions, which protested against the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by Congress. 

 

The Alien and Sedition Acts allowed the president to deport anyone who was considered a threat to peace and safety, as well as controlled what people could say that was critical of the government. The Acts also stated that in order to become a citizen, someone had to reside in the United States for 14 years; whereas before these Acts were passed the requirements were to have resided in the United States for only 4 years before becoming a citizen.

Madison served as the rector of the University of Virginia from 1826 until his death in 1836. He also wrote articles defending James Monroe - who became the fifth president of the United States in 1817 - and served as his foreign policy adviser.

Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, a widow with a son, in 1794. When he died in 1836, he was 85 years old and was outlived by both Dolley and her son.