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Courtesy: Wikipedia

**James Madison** ([March 16](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_16),
[1751](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1751) -- [June
28](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_28),
[1836](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1836)), an American politician and
fourth [President of the United States of
America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States_of_America)
(1809--1817), was one of the most influential [Founding
Fathers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers) of the [United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States). Considered to be
the \"Father of the
[Constitution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution)\",
Madison played a bigger role in designing the 1787 document than anyone
else. In 1788, he wrote over a third of [the Federalist
Papers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Federalist_Papers), still the
most influential commentary on the
[Constitution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution).
As a leader in the first Congresses, he drafted many basic laws and was
responsible for the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and thus
is also known as the \"Father of the Bill of Rights\".

[\[1\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison#_note-0%23_note-0) As
a political theorist, Madison\'s most distinctive belief was that the
new republic needed checks and balances to limit the powers of special
interests, which Madison called factions.

[\[2\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison#_note-1%23_note-1) He
believed very strongly that the new nation should fight against
aristocracy and corruption (especially of British origin), and was
deeply committed to creating mechanisms that would ensure [Republicanism
in the United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_States).

[\[3\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison#_note-2%23_note-2) As
leader in the House of Representatives, Madison worked closely with
President [George
Washington](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington) to organize
the new federal government. Breaking with Treasury Secretary [Alexander
Hamilton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton) in 1791,
Madison and [Thomas
Jefferson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson) organized what
they called the Republican
party[\[4\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison#_note-3%23_note-3)
(the future [Democratic-Republican
Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party)), in
opposition to key policies of the
[Federalists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Party_(United_States)),
especially the national bank and the [Jay
Treaty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty). He secretly
coauthored, along with Thomas Jefferson, the [Kentucky and Virginia
Resolutions](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_and_Virginia_Resolutions)
in 1798 to protest the [Alien and Sedition
Laws](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Laws).

As president, he led the nation into the [War of
1812](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812) against Great Britain.
That conflict began poorly as Americans suffered defeat after defeat by
smaller forces, but ended on a high note in 1815, after which a new
spirit of nationalism swept the country. During and after the war,
Madison reversed many of his positions. By 1815, he supported the
creation of the second National Bank, a strong military, and a high
tariff to protect the new factories opened during the war.