James Madison (1751 - 1836)

James Madison (1751 - 1836)

The fourth US president was created in Orange County, Virginia, and attended Princeton (then called the College of New Jersey). He studied history, government and law, participated in the preparation of the Virginia Constitution in 1776, served in the Continental Congress and was leader in the Virginia Assembly.

When the delegates of the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Madison, 36, participated in frequent and emphatic manner in the debates. He contributed significantly to the ratification of the Constitution by writing, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the Federalist Essays.]

Years later, when it was called the "Father of the Constitution," Madison said that the document was not "the product of a single brain," but "the work of many heads and many hands."

In Congress, he helped draft the Charter of Rights. And their opposition to the financial proposals of Hamilton, has developed the Republican Party, or Jeffersonian.

As Secretary of State for President Jefferson, Madison protested to France and Britain, which were at war, that their catch of American ships was contrary to international law. Despite the unpopular Embargo Act of 1807, Madison was elected president in 1808.

In his possession, Madison, a small, thin man looked old and tired. But whatever their shortcomings, they were balanced by the presence of Dolley, friendly and jovial wife. She was the center of attention in Washington.

The difficulties continued with Britain and France. In Congress, a youth group called "War Hawks" pressed the President for a more militant policy. The impressment of American sailors by the British and the seizure of cargoes impelled Madison to give in to pressure. On June 1, 1812, he asked Congress to declare war.

The young nation was not prepared to fight. The British burned down the White House and the Capitol. But a few notable victories, whose climax was the triumph of General Andrew Jackson in New Orleans, convinced Americans that the 1812 war was a glorious success.

Federalists of New England who were against the war, and they came to talk about secession, were so widely repudiated that Federalism disappeared as a national party.

In retirement, Madison spoke out against the disruptive influences of states' rights, which in the 1830s threatened to shatter the Federal Union. In an open note after his death in 1836, he declared: "The closer to my heart and deepest in my convictions advice is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated."