James Madison's life history

JAMES MADISON’S LIFE HISTORY

James Madison was born on 16th March 1751. His birth town is Port Conway, Virginia. He grew up in Orange County, Virginia. Madison is the oldest child out of the 12 children born to his parents (only seven grew to adulthood). As a successful planter, James’ father owned dozens of slaves and over 3,000 land acres. Besides, James’ father was very influential when it came to county affairs. He attended a boarding school which was located in King and Queen County, Virginia and managed by Robertson Donald from 1762. After five years, he came back to his father’s estate called Montpelier in Orange County. Since his dad was concerned about James’ health (he experienced bouts of sickness), he had him stay and home and get taught privately. 1 Madison attended the College of New Jersey in 1769. He studied philosophy, Greek, science, and Latin after which he graduated in 1771.

James Madison returned to Virginia in 1772 and was caught up in the tension between the British and colonists authorities. He was an elected member of the Orange County Committee of Safety from December 1774. Subsequently, he became a colonel of the Virginia militia in 1775. James Madison worked with George Mason when he was appointed to work in the committee that was in charge of writing the constitution of Virginia 2 . The two worked on the draft of Virginia’s new constitution. Madison’s special contribution was reworking some of the languages on religious freedom. He lost his bid for the Virginia Assembly seat but was appointed to the council of the Governor in 1777. In 1780, he traveled to Philadelphia to represent Virginia as a delegate in the Continental Congress. On returning to Virginia in 1783, Madison achieved in separating the state and the church. He helped Virginia get Statute of Religious Freedom.

James Madison was Virginia’s representative at the Constitution Convention in 1787. Since he believed in federalism, James advocated for a united national government. Through the Virginia Plan, Madison described his idea of constituting a federal government that has three parts. The three parts are the judicial, the executive and the legislative branches. He believed that this three-part structure was key in putting in place a system of balances and checks, which would prevent misuse of power some groups. Despite the fact that many ideas of Madison put into the constitution, the document was challenged by Virginia and other colonies as well. Madison successfully outmaneuvered Constitution opponents in Virginia, such as Patrick Henry. Thus, he secured the document’s ratification. 3

Madison successfully won a seat in the House of Representatives of the United States in 1789. He became active in pushing for the Bill of Rights. In June 1789, Madison submitted to the Constitution to Congress his suggested amendments. He wanted to ensure that Americans’ freedom of speech was protected against unreasonable seizures and searches. 4 Besides, he ensured one would receive public and speedy trial when faced with charges. Initially, Madison was a supporter of the administration of George Washington. However, he found himself at odds with him over financial issues. Madison was against the policies of Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury. He believed that these plans were detrimental to others while filling the pockets of rich northerners. He, together with Jefferson campaigned against the development of a federal central bank. They referred to this as unconstitutional. However, they did not succeed, and in 1791 the measure was passed. They abandoned the Federalist Party and created another one called the Democratic-Republican Party.

Madison got tired of political battles and returned home to Virginia in 1797. He, later on, returned after four years and joined Thomas Jefferson's administration as secretary of state. He offered great support to Jefferson in expanding the borders of the nation and exploring new lands. At the time when France and Great Britain were at war again, American ships were caught in the middle and were prevented from trading with the enemy. 5 Besides, crewmembers from America were forced to work for these fighting powers. After trying diplomatic efforts which failed, Madison created a campaign called the Embargo Act of 1807, which prevented vessels from America from going to foreign ports and stopped exports from the United States. As a result, American merchants suffered a huge economic disaster. 

Madison ran for the 1808 presidential election under the Democratic-Republican Party. He won the election by a wide margin (almost 70 percent of the votes), defeating George Clinton from the Independent Republican Party and Charles Pinckney from the Federalist Party. The challenge that existed in America at this time was the increasing tension between Great Britain and America. The Embargo act of 1807 had created issues between the two countries. The act was then rescinded in 1809 and replaced by laws that reduced the embargo to France and Great Britain only was created. Businessmen from America ignored the act, and they continued trading with these countries. War between the Great Britain and the United States was declared in June 1812. However, both nations came to an agreement to end the war in 1815 during which Treaty of Ghent was signed. James Madison left the presidential office in 1817. The fourth president of the USA, James Madison, believed in a balanced and robust federal government. Hence, he is called the Father of the Constitution. 6

On comparing James Madison’s presidency with other US presidents in the 20th century, there are several similarities and differences. Let us consider President Barack Obama who took office on 20th January 2009 and left office on 20th January 2017. The first similarity that exists between James and Barack is that both presidents ran for the presidency through a democratic party. Both presidents left the office after the end of their two terms which lasted eight years. As presidents, both Obama and Madison led during a time of terror and were both accused of being weal executives in the national security sector. 7 The difference between these two presidents is that Barack Obama was more educated. He was a professor, a lawyer and a community organizer who had attended three different higher education institutions; Harvard University, Columbia University, and Occidental college. On the contrary, Madison was a farmer who owned a plantation. Besides, he only attended Princeton University. Before Obama became president, he was a constitutional law professor. James Madison was the father of the constitution who was an avid scholar of modern and ancient governments. 8

In conclusion, James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on 16th March 1751. He wrote the first US constitution draft, was a co-writer of the Federalist paper and also pushed for the Bill of Rights. Together with President Thomas Jefferson, they formed the Democratic-Republican Party. He became the president of the US in 1808 and initiated the 1812 war with the British. He served two presidential terms that lasted four years each after which he left the office and returned to Virginia. 

Bibliography

Hobson, Charles F. “James Madison, the Bill of Rights, and the Problem of the States.” William & Mary Law Review 31, no. 2 (1990): 267-274. Accessed March 22, 2018. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1960&context=wmlr

Kramer, Larry D. “The Interest of the Man": James Madison, Popular Constitutionalism, and the Theory of Deliberative Democracy.” Valparaiso University Law Review 41, no. 2 (2007): 697-154. Accessed March 22, 2018. https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1174&context=vulr

Madison James. “The writings of James Madison.” Journal of the Constitutional Convention 4, (1787). Accessed March 22, 2018. http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/madison-the-writings-vol-4-1787