Early life


Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on March 16, 1751 (March 5 according to the Old Style Julian Calendar). He was the eldest of twelve children, seven of whom reached adulthood. His parents, Colonel James Madison, Sr. (March 27, 1723 – February 27, 1801) and Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway (January 9, 1731 – February 11, 1829), were slave owners and the prosperous owners of a tobacco plantation in Orange County, Virginia, where Madison spent most of his childhood years. He was raised Episcopalian. Madison's plantation life was made possible by his paternal great-great-grandfather, James Madison, who utilized Virginia's headright system to import many indentured servants, thereby allowing him to accumulate a large tract of land. Madison, like his forebears, owned slaves.

In 1769, Madison left the plantation to attend the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton University), finishing its four-year course in two years but exhausting himself from overwork in the process. When he regained his health, he served in the state legislature (1776-79) and became known as a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. In this capacity, he became a prominent figure in Virginia state politics, helping to draft the state's declaration of religious freedom and persuading Virginia to give its northwestern territories (consisting of most of modern-day Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois) to the Continental Congress.

As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1780-83), he was considered a legislative workhorse and a master of parliamentary detail. Back in the state legislature, he welcomed peace, but soon became alarmed at the fragility of the Confederation. He was a strong advocate of a new constitution and played a leading role in drafting and negotiating the main points at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. To aid the push for quick ratification, he joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write The Federalist Papers. These have become the single most important interpretation of the Constitution among jurists and scholars. Madison wrote the single most quoted paper, #10, in which he explained how a large country with many different interests and factions could support republicanism better than a small country where a few special interests could dominate. His interpretation has become a central part of the pluralist interpretation of American politics.

Back in Virginia in 1788, he led the fight for ratification of the Constitution at the state's convention—oratorically dueling Patrick Henry and others who sought revisions (such as a bill of rights) before its ratification. Madison is often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution" for his role in its drafting and ratification. However, he protested this designation as being "a credit to which I have no claim... [The Constitution] was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands."