James Madison was born in 1751 in the United States of America. He is often referred to as one of the Founding Fathers of the country.
Madison became the fourth president of the United States from 1809 until 1817. His career in politics and international relations has been studied thoroughly, especially because he is also a co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Continue reading and discover all these amazing facts about James Madison
James Madison Facts
1. James Madison had a very privileged upbringing
Madison grew up in a very comfortable position, as he had many things that other people were only able to dream of.
The education Madison received was top-notch. In fact, from the ages of 11 to 16, he studied geography, Latin, math, and history, among others.
He would then become obsessed with ancient philosophies and Greek and Latin philosophers, thus he started to shape his ideas about democracy.
In 1769, James Madison enrolled in what is now known as Princeton University, and he graduated two years later, in 1771.
An interesting fact about James Madison is that he enrolled in a four-year program and he eventually graduated in only two years. He also became the College of New Jersey’s first graduate student, an honour he will always speak about.
2. James Madison started off his political career back home
As soon as Madison completed his graduate studies, he decided to return to his hometown where he saw an opportunity to become involved with local politics.
He started off as a member of the Orange County Committee of Public Safety in 1774. And a couple of years later he was elected to the Virginia Legislature where he met Thomas Jefferson.
When Madison was only twenty-five years old, he started fighting in order to be able to amend the Virginia Declaration of Rights, where he proposed to have liberty in the individual’s choice of religion.
It can be said that Madison played an important role in the political scenario in Virginia, and this allowed him to become a well-known person in the country’s political field.
3. James Madison’s personal life was also very interesting
James Madison was not known for being involved with many women, until 1794 when he married a widow called Dolley Payne Todd. She was later called Dolley Madison.
Dolley was 17 years his junior, an interesting fact about James Madison. She had a flamboyant personality, she despised church discipline and she loved all her social activities and gatherings, thus she was always at every soirée that Madison would host and at the same time, she was also there when Madison was invited to different galas.
She would usually wear colourful dresses, a feathered turban and lots of jewelry and fur. She is often associated with the term ‘’First Lady’’ even though this term came to be used at a much later date.
4. Madison has often been referred to as the “Father of the Constitution’’
Even though Madison always stated that the constitution came from different people who would put their whole hearts, minds and hands, he is still often called the Father of the Constitution.
Of course, there are many others who also contributed and ratify some ideas in regards the amendments, however, Madison played a central role throughout the creation and implementation of those amendments as well.
In addition, Madison also became the first historian of the Constitutional Convention, as he would write everything that was discussed and ended up publishing all the notes that he wrote.
5. Madison was in charge of the Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana purchase allowed the United States to double its size. This happened when Thomas Jefferson became the President of the country and he immediately appointed Madison as the Secretary of State.
In this purchase, the U.S government bought Louisiana from France in 1803. The cost they paid was fifteen million dollars and the whole world was shocked when this happened, mainly because that territory was partly controlled by the French, and the majority of the area was inhabited by the Native Americans.
6. James Madison helped found the country’s first political party
The Democratic-Republican party was found in the early 1790s. An interesting fact about James Madison is that one of its founders was he, as he thought that all countries must have political parties that would represent their citizens, regardless of their political thoughts or ambitions.
In addition, Madison also became the co-founder of the National Gazette, the party’s first newspaper that was very successful.
In the newspaper, many problems and situations were discussed, criticised and analyzed, and many articles were written by its contributors – especially by Madison – where they would complain about other political figures.
7. Madison’s last years were filled with problems
After becoming the President of the United States and being really far away from his native Virginia, Madison decided that as soon as he would retire from politics, he would go back to his farm.
So, Madison went back to Virginia where he was able to manage his 5,000-acre farm, and for the following 19 years he was able to cultivate the land using methods that were considered strange, but, nowadays, those same methods are still considered as innovations.
He also became the president of the Albemarle Agricultural Society, and he used to warn other farmers about the need to restore the soil where they were planting, as it was necessary to maintain a balance in nature.
Conclusion
Madison was a true humanist person, he hated slavery and he worked on his farm whenever he could.
Apparently, when Madison returned to Virginia, he still had slaves. One of them decided to flee but he was soon caught off. Once he spoke to James Madison and gave him his opinion on how they were living, Madison decided to free him and instead he hired him to work on his behalf.
It can also be argued that James Madison was at the center of politics in North America. He left important improvements on the U.S Constitution, while at the same time, he provided his expertise towards the democratic theory, politics, international relations and governance.
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