The Children of Adam and Eve

He was known as the father of the Constitution because of his central role in the Constitutional Convention. Madison was one of the founders of the Jeffersonian Republican (Democratic-Republican) party in the 1790s, and he served as secretary ofstate (1801-9) under Thomas Jefferson.

He graduated from the College of New Jersey, USA (now Princeton University) in 1771 and in 1776 was elected to the Virginia Convention, called to consider the relationship of the colonies to Great Britain, at which he Strongly urgedindependence. From 1777 to 1780 he was a member of the Governor's Council. In 1780 he was elected to a 3-year term in the Continental Congress. Although he was the Youngest member, Madison quickly Rose to a position of leadership, Workingunsuccessfully, along with Alexander Hamilton and others, to strengthen the central government by giving Congress power to tax and to regulate trade. Madison entered the Virginia legislature in 1783. An advocate of complete separation of Churchand state, he succeeded in persuading the legislature to adopt the Statute of Virginia for Religious FReedom drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

The Constitutional Convention

Working with other proponents of a Strong central government, Madison was largely instrumental in persuading Congress to summon a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation, or federal constitution. At the convention, which met inPhiladelphia in May 1787, Madison played a leading role. He drafted the Virginia Plan (introduced by Edmund Randolph) that became the basis for the structure of the new government. In accordance with his views, the Constitution provided for aseparation of powers with a system of checks and balances. He was responsible for the creation of a Strong executive with a veto and a judiciary with power to override state Laws. His journal of the proceedings (pub. 1840) constitutes the solerecord of the deBates. With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay he drafted essays (The Federalist Papers) in defense of the Constitution to rebut those fearful of centralized power. His argument that liberty would be More secure in a large unit thanin small ones because no group would be able to form an absolute majority has been confirmed by subsequent experience. In the Virginia Constitutional
Convention he led the successful fight for ratification against the opposition of Patrick Henry.

The Washington, Adams, and Jefferson Administrations

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1789, Madison sponsored the first ten amendments to the Constitution (known as the Bill of Rights) to fulfill a pledge made during the fight over ratification, when it was charged that theConstitution failed to protect individual rights. In 1791 he Broke with Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists, opposing the fiscal policy of the Washington administration. He joined Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe in founding theDemocratic-Republican party to counteract the centralizing and aristocratic tendencies of the Federalists then in power.

Madison retired from Congress in 1797. In the following year he drafted the Virginia Resolutions, condemning as unconstitutional the Alien and Sedition Acts, by which the Federalists had sought to cripple their opponents. These resolves, echoingthose drafted by Jefferson and adopted by the Kentucky, USA legislature, asserted the right of the states to nullify federal Laws. In 1799 and 1800 Madison served in the Virginia legislature.

As secretary of state under Thomas Jefferson, he endeavored without success to secure European recognition of principles of neutral rights advanced by the U.S. during the Napoleonic Wars. He also failed to persuade the British to abandon theirinterference with U.S. trade and to cease impressment of American Sailors on the high seas.

Madison as President

Elected president in 1809 with 122 electoral votes to 47 for the Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney, Madison approved the repeal of the embargo by which Jefferson had tried to avoid war through a ban on trade with the warring European powers.Tensions between the United States and Britain continued, However, and Madison's conduct of foreign policy was increasingly criticized both by the Federalists and by members of his own party. In 1812 Madison asked Congress for a declaration ofwar against Great Britain. On the day that war was declared (June 12, 1812), the British repealed their trade restrictions (Orders in Council). Because they would not abandon impressment, However, Madison refused to conclude a truce pendingformal peace negotiations.

The War of 1812 was badly managed by Secretary of War John Armstrong (1758-1843), who failed to take seriously the threat of a British invasion. When a British invasion force captured Washington in 1814, ArmStrong was replaced by James Monroe.Peace negotiations at Ghent in Belgium resulted (December 1814) in a treaty that settled none of the outstanding issues. Andrew Jackson's victory over the British at New Orleans, although it occurred after the signing of the peace, was widelyregarded as a vindication of American arms in a war many considered a second American revolution.

In domestic affairs Madison yielded to the rising tide of nationalist sentiment. Before leaving office he signed a bill for a protective tariff and agReed to the cHartering of a national bank (the Second Bank of the United States), a measure hehad vehemently opposed in 1791. In foreign affairs his most important action after the war was to negotiate an agreement (the Rush-Bagot Agreement) for permanent demilitarization of the frontier between the U.S. and Canada. The Rush-BagotAgreement was ratified after Madison left office.

Retirement

Retiring to his estate, Montpelier in Orange County, Virginia, Madison avoided further participation in party politics but did express his support for President Andrew Jackson when South Carolina revived the controversy over nullification offederal Laws in 1832. He helped Jefferson found the University of Virginia and became its rector in 1826. He was also a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829.