Remembering James Madison
On June 28, 1836, (175 years ago today) James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, died at the age of 85. Some call Madison the “Father of the Constitution”. He wrote the Bill of Rights and also wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, a series of 85 newspaper articles, which were published throughout the 13 states, to explain to the public how the proposed Constitution would work. They are still the primary source today for jurists and legal scholars interested in the original understanding of the Constitution.
Madison served in the first Congress under the new Constitution, and was considered to be the expert on the Constitution. George Washington frequently sought out Madison’s advice on the Constitution. Madison was named Secretary of State in the cabinet of Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1809. In that role he supervised the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the nation’s size.
It was as president that Madison faced his biggest challenges. After diplomacy failed to resolve conflicts with the British over the boarding of American ships and the impressment of American sailors, Madison declared war on the British and led the nation into the War of 1812. Debate still continues over who won the war, a conflict which included the invasion of the capital, the burning of the White House and the routing of the British at the Battle of New Orleans.
When Madison left office in 1817, he retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Virginia; not far from Jefferson's Monticello. Madison was then 65 years old and his wife Dolley was 49. Madison left the presidency a poorer man than when he entered, due to the steady financial collapse of his plantation. In his later years, Madison also became extremely concerned about his legacy. He took to modifying letters and other documents in his possessions: changing days and dates, adding and deleting words and sentences, and shifting characters. By the time he had reached his late seventies, this "straightening out" had become almost an obsession.
In 1826, after the death of Jefferson, Madison followed Jefferson as the second Rector of the University of Virginia. He held the position as college chancellor for ten years, until his death in 1836. In 1829, at the age of 78, Madison was chosen as a representative to the constitutional convention in Richmond for the revising of the Virginia state constitution. Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836 and is buried in the Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier.
Madison served in the first Congress under the new Constitution, and was considered to be the expert on the Constitution. George Washington frequently sought out Madison’s advice on the Constitution. Madison was named Secretary of State in the cabinet of Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1809. In that role he supervised the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the nation’s size.
It was as president that Madison faced his biggest challenges. After diplomacy failed to resolve conflicts with the British over the boarding of American ships and the impressment of American sailors, Madison declared war on the British and led the nation into the War of 1812. Debate still continues over who won the war, a conflict which included the invasion of the capital, the burning of the White House and the routing of the British at the Battle of New Orleans.
When Madison left office in 1817, he retired to Montpelier, his tobacco plantation in Virginia; not far from Jefferson's Monticello. Madison was then 65 years old and his wife Dolley was 49. Madison left the presidency a poorer man than when he entered, due to the steady financial collapse of his plantation. In his later years, Madison also became extremely concerned about his legacy. He took to modifying letters and other documents in his possessions: changing days and dates, adding and deleting words and sentences, and shifting characters. By the time he had reached his late seventies, this "straightening out" had become almost an obsession.
In 1826, after the death of Jefferson, Madison followed Jefferson as the second Rector of the University of Virginia. He held the position as college chancellor for ten years, until his death in 1836. In 1829, at the age of 78, Madison was chosen as a representative to the constitutional convention in Richmond for the revising of the Virginia state constitution. Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836 and is buried in the Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier.