James Madison

**James Madison Jr.** (March 16, 1751  – June 28, 1836) was an American Founding Father and the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He was also the most important author of the United States Constitution and a slave owner with a large plantation.

Madison was the shortest president in American history, with a height of .

## Family

James Madison Jr. was the eldest son of Colonel James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison.

Madison married Dolley Todd (née Payne) on September 14, 1794 at the age of 43.

## Political life

Madison started his career in the Virginia legislature. Madison learned many things from Thomas Jefferson. Madison wanted a stronger federal government than the Articles of Confederation provided. He was a member of the Constitutional Conventtion, which formed the current United States Constitution. Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution" because he helped write a large part of it and convinced people to pass it.

Madison was elected to the House of Representatives.  Madison helped write the first laws for the United States. Madison also was the main writer of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Madison and Jefferson were good friends and helped create the Democratic-Republican Party, which wanted a weak federal government.

Madison was selected by President Jefferson to be his Secretary of State.

## Presidency

Madison was selected by his political party to be the Democratic-Republican candidate for president in 1808. He won that election and was re-elected in 1812.

The War of 1812 started while Madison was president. Madison still hoped for peace, but Congress wanted war and so he gave in, and the 61-year-old president approved a declaration of war against Britain on June 19, 1812. People who still wanted peace called it "Mr Madison's War."

Madison and his family were forced to flee in 1814 when British forces seized control of Washington, D.C., and burned the White House and many other buildings to the ground. Dolley Madison, his wife, famously saved a portrait of George Washington from the fire.

The war caused Madison to want a stronger government than he had before. While he originally was against a national bank, he decided that it was necessary to fund a war. After the charter of the First Bank of the United States expired, Madison recreated it.

## Later life

Madison retired to Virginia after his second term. He died there from heart failure on June 28, 1836 at the age of 85.

## Other websites

- Madison's White House biography

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: James Madison
- **nationality**: American
- **image**: James Madison.jpg
- **image size**: 250px
- **caption**: Portrait by John Vanderlyn, 1816
- **order**: 4th President of the United States
- **term start**: March 4, 1809
- **term end**: March 4, 1817
- **predecessor**: Thomas Jefferson
- **successor**: James Monroe
- **office1**: 5th United States Secretary of State
- **president1**: Thomas Jefferson
- **term start1**: May 2, 1801
- **term end1**: March 3, 1809
- **predecessor1**: John Marshall
- **successor1**: Robert Smith (Cabinet member), Robert Smith
- **office2**: Member of the
United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia
- **term start2**: March 4, 1789
- **term end2**: March 4, 1797
- **predecessor2**: Constituency established
- **successor2**: George Hancock (Virginia politician), George Hancock (5th)
John Dawson (1762–1814), John Dawson (15th)
- **constituency2**: (1789–1793)
 (1793–1797)
- **office3**: Delegate from Virginia
- **term start3**: November 6, 1786
- **term end3**: October 30, 1787
- **predecessor3**: Seat established
- **successor3**: Cyrus Griffin
- **term start4**: March 1, 1781
- **term end4**: November 1, 1783
- **predecessor4**: Seat established
- **successor4**: Thomas Jefferson
- **birth place**: Port Conway, Virginia, United States, U.S.
- **death place**: Montpelier, Virginia, Montpelier, Virginia, U.S.
- **spouse**: Dolley Madison, Dolley Todd Madison
- **party**: United States Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican
- **signature**: James Madison sig.svg
- **blank1**: Religion
- **data1**: Episcopal Church