James Madison: A Brief Biography

Following the United States’ independence from Great Britain, the Articles of Confederation were formed in order to hold the country together politically. The Articles proved inefficient, as Congress couldn’t collect taxes or regulate interstate commerce, the government couldn’t raise an army, there was no national currency and most importantly, there was no central government. But the spark that triggered Americans’ realization that they needed to call a constitutional convention happened after an event in Massachusetts in 1786, called Shays’ Rebellion.

Yet, several decades later, Henry Adams concluded that Madison's presidency was “a long recitation of 'executive weaknesses' and mismanagement.” (Rutland 1990). And this judgment has been wide accepted by many historians. First of all, James Madison took down the banking system. When the first Bank of the United States was scheduled to expire in 1811, and while Madison's treasury secretary said the bank was a necessity, Congress failed to re-authorize it. As the absence of a national bank made war with Britain very difficult to finance, Congress passed a bill in 1814 chartering a second national bank, but Madison also vetoed it. It is not until 1816 that the second national bank was chartered when had learned the bank was necessary from the

The Articles of Confederation were somewhat like the constitution, we have today. They served as a governing tool from 1781 until 1787(“Articles of Confederation”). The Articles of Confederation were called for by the Second Continental Congress. When they were called, the articles were questionable and very unsteady as to what the rules were. As the Articles of Confederation were underway, they would bind the 13 colonies into one nation(“Articles of Confederation”). After so many issues with the Articles of Confederation also the time we were in, which was right during the Revolutionary war; Congress no longer had the power of the people, and could no longer in force the states to do what they are expected of (“Articles of Confederation”).

“Articles of Confederation was an written agreement summarizing the agreement between different parties the federalist and the anti-federalist”. Federalist wanted to ratify the constitution,and Anti-federalist did not want to ratify it. One big issue they had was the concern of adding the “Bill of Rights”. The Federalist felt like it was unnecessary because, they believed the Constitution should only limited the government not the people. The Anti-federalist felt like the Constitution gave central government too much power.

James Madison and Patrick Henry were two significant individuals when it came to the proposal and opinions concerning the Constitution of the United States. James Madison was known to be a federalist, meaning he was in favor of the Constitution and the Republic which it formed. On the other hand, Patrick Henry was an anti-federalist and was against the new form of government being proposed due to his belief that the rights of citizens were at risk through the implementation of the Constitution. Although both give strong arguments on their position, I believe that the side of the debate which is the most ethical would be the side of the Federalists, who want to form a country with more specific representation and a more controlled government and country as a whole since too much democracy could lead to the destruction of the rights of individuals in itself.

James Madison was born March 16, 1751 in Belle Grove, Port Conway.1 He was the oldest of 12 children, seven of who actually lived to adulthood. His parents were James Madison Sr. And Eleanor Rose Conway. Rose, his mother lived to be ninety eight years old. In 1762 at the age of 11 he was sent to a boarding school in King and Queen county, Virginia. His father, James, was a successful planter and owned more than 3,000 acres of land with dozens of slaves. He died of heart failure at the age of 85 on June 28, 1836. He died at the Montpelier estate.2

My single story about the constitution was that it came right after America gained its independence. After deep analysis of James Madison quote about framing a government “We are in the wilderness without a single footstep to guide us” I learned that creating a government is trial and error and is more complex than I imagined. This quote was able to show me the fear of trying to carve out a new system of government. In eighth grade when I “learned” about the constitution it was about the amendments but not why the constitution was created (Articles of Confederation) and how the founding fathers were taking a gamble by forming a democracy. While creating the constitution the founding father had tried to appease the American people*. The constitution

The Article of Confederation was ratified in 1781. This Article was part of the formation of a national government in the United States. But, by 1787, a reform convention was held to address the Article’s weaknesses. This event also brought about tension in the country between two groups, the Federalists and Antifederalists. Federalists were a group of people that advocated for a system of government, while Antifederalists opposed the creation of a stronger America. The Article of Confederation  was designed as a loose confederation of 13 states, and reflected principles of the Declaration of Independence. But, difficulties began to arise with the new Constitution when economic weakness and farmers revolt proved the Article was a poor form of government, along with opposing views from Federalists and Antifederalists, verifying that an inadequate document had been created.

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia. Madison, the oldest of 12 children, was raised on the family plantation, Montpelier, in Orange County, Virginia Once he was 18 Madison left Montpelier in order to attend the College of New Jersey (which is now Princeton University). Montpelier was established by Madison’s grandfather in 1723. An estimated 100 slaves lived at Montpelier when Madison owned it. The land was sold after his death and today the estate covers some 2,600 acres and is open to the public. After his graduation Madison took interest in the relationship between the American colonies and Great Britain. When Virginia

James Madison begins his famous federalist paper by explaining that the purpose of this essay is to help the readers understand how the structure of the proposed government makes liberty possible. Each branch should be, for the most part, in Madison's opinion, independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But, the framers recognized certain practical difficulties in making every office elective. In particular, the judicial branch would suffer because the average person is not aware of the qualifications judges should

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia, to Colonel James Madison Sr. and Eleanor Rose Conway. Madison and his siblings grew up into the Christian religion since his family was very religious. James had eleven other siblings and was the oldest out of them all. All his siblings were outgoing and playful, but James was the most fragile out of all his siblings due to Epileptoid Hysteria. Epileptiod Hysteria is a sickness that causes seizures, a fear that affects your mind, and it affects how you think about different situations. Due to

When most people think of the founding fathers, they think of people such as George Washington. He was the leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first President of the United States of America. He was nicknamed “The Father of His Country” for his contributions and leadership during the American Revolution. Some could mention the second President of the United States, John Adams, who also led in persuading the Continental Congress to declare America’s independence from Great Britain, while others could also mention Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States and the author of the United States Constitution.

American soldiers that were able to pass as a British citizen. Of the 10,000 men

The Articles of Confederation, which was considered the first constitution of the United States of America, and the US Constitution, which acts as the supreme law in the United States today, both are poles apart. In fact, it was only because of the weaknesses of the Articles that the present-day US Constitution was drafted. The Articles of Confederation or Articles was a written agreement which laid the guidelines for the functioning of the national government. It was drafted by the Continental Congress and sent to the thirteen original states for ratification in November 1777. Within a few years of its ratification, the Articles was subjected to severe criticism by the Founding Fathers of the United States. Problems with the document existed in plenty; the biggest issue being the fact that it left the national government at the mercy of states. Eventually, it was decided that this agreement had to be revised to suit the needs of the nation as a whole. The delegates at the Philadelphia Convention came to the conclusion that it was better to draft an entirely new constitution instead of revising the existing agreement, and thus came into existence the new US Constitution.

After the American Revolution, the newly founded independent country needed stability and unification in government, so the continental congress drafted the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation focused on the ideas of independence and was geared towards the states sovereignty because many feared the federal government becoming to powerful. The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses and later showed the fragility in having a weak central government leading the country to eventually “revise” the articles ( more like just tossed it out the door) and created the Constitution that many of us know today.