James Madison
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Col. James Madison Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) was a prominent Virginia planter and politician who served as a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War.
Learn about James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and the Father of the Constitution. Find out his role in the War of 1812, his family, and his legacy.
Learn about James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and the father of the U.S. Constitution. His father, James Sr., was a slave owner and planter who built Montpelier, the family estate.
- Early Years. James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia, to James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison. The oldest of 12 children, Madison was raised on the family plantation, Montpelier, in Orange County, Virginia.
- Father of the Constitution. After the colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, the Articles of Confederation were created as the first constitution of the United States.
- Ratifying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Once the new constitution was written, it needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 states. This was not an easy process, as many states felt the Constitution gave the federal government too much power.
- Bill of Rights. Madison was elected to the newly formed U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from 1789 to 1797. In Congress, he worked to draft the Bill of Rights, a group of 10 amendments to the Constitution that spelled out fundamental rights (such as freedom of speech and religion) held by U.S. citizens.
James Madison Sr. (“Colonel Madison”) The father of James Madison Jr., Madison Sr., was born in 1723 and was also known as “Colonel Madison” later in his life. Colonel Madison was a tobacco planter, growing up on his estate with his mother after his father’s death.
James Madison Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) was a prominent Virginia planter and politician who served as a colonel in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War. He inherited Mount Pleasant, later known as Montpelier, a large tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia and, with the acquisition of more property ...
James Madison, Founding Father, architect of the Constitution, and fourth President of the United States, was born on March 16, 1751 at his mother’s home in Port Conway, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg.
