James Madison, Jr. (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman,  diplomat, expansionist, philosopher and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the 'Father of the Constitution' for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights. The American colonists split between two factions, the Loyalists to King George III, and the Patriots, that Madison joined, under control of the Continental Congress. Madison believed that Parliament had overstepped its bounds by imposing taxation on the British-American colonies, and he sympathized with those who resisted British rule. He also favored de-establishing the Anglican Church in Virginia; Madison believed that an established religion was detrimental not only for restricting freedom of religion, but also because it encouraged closed-mindedness and unquestioning obedience to the authority of the state.