James Madison Born, Father of the U.S. Constitution

Summary

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751. He was the fourth president of the United States and a principal architect of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Born in Port Conway, Virginia, to a prominent planter family, Madison studied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). At the 1787 Constitutional Convention he drafted the Virginia Plan, advocated a strong federal government with checks and balances, and kept the most detailed notes of the proceedings. With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay he co-authored the Federalist Papers to secure ratification. As a U.S. representative he sponsored the Bill of Rights. Madison later served as secretary of state under Thomas Jefferson, helped found the Democratic-Republican Party, and led the nation through the War of 1812 during his presidency from 1809 to 1817.