Who was James Madison? Many people do not recognize the name, I know I didn’t. Although he was and is an important role in our country. Who better than him to help write the Constitution, or the Federal Papers, or even be our 4th President of the United States? Without him and the founding fathers what would our government be like. As he once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” (Madison, 1788). He was never one to be recognized from all the time and effort he put in for this country, but he was one of the greats.
In this essay, I will introduce to you the life of James Madison and his impact on us. I will discuss the key topics of his early life, what he was best known for, and a modern day version of Madison. James Madison, born on March 16, 1751 at Belle Grove, Port Conway. He was a very small boy, only to become 5’4 feet, was raised on small farmland sight in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. On this farmland was his mother, Eleanor Rose Conway, also known as Nellie, his father, James Madison Sr. , and his siblings. James Madison was the oldest of seven children, originally, there were twelve, but five died as infants.
The Madison family was wealthier than many others. This came from Mr. Madison, by inheritance he was a wealthy and substantial man. As a child, James was a very sickly as a child with seizures, mental issues, anxiety, epilepsy, and much stress. Some of his stress occurred from the worry of Indian attacks during the French and Indian war in the 1754 though 1763. It was also aroused by the moving from his small farmland to an enormous plantation in Orange County, Virginia called Montpelier. Through his life, he continually exposed himself to Christianity, but kept his views private.
Although, he later began revealing his faith more to others, such as the founding fathers. Besides this, James took the time to enjoy books and studying languages such as Latin and Greek. As a young child, he was schooled at home, then later attending preparatory school. Later, he took time in the College of New Jersey at Princeton. He completed his 4 year course in only 2 years. Madison was known as “Father of the Constitution,” and was the last of all the Founding Fathers to serve as a President. IN 1776, he found himself at the Virginia Convention, as an Orange County representative.
At this time he met Thomas Jefferson and together they had a lifelong friendship. Later in 1777, he was appointed to the Governor’s Council where he was a strong supporter of the American-French alliance during the time of the Revolution. Then, in 1780, he travelled to Philadelphia to serve as a Virginia delegate to Continental Congress. Soon enough, in 1783 Madison returned to Virginia, there he became a champion for the separation of church and state. He also contributed to the Virginia’s Statute of Religious Freedom. He later went on to creating the Constitution.
In this he was influenced by Montesquieu, a French lawyer and a political philosopher, to express his ideas on forming a three-part federal government. This government would consist an executive, judicial, and legislative branch. This structure would have a new system of checks and balances in order to prevent the overuse of power in any one group. While making the Constitution, he joined together with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to have it ratified. These three men even wrote a series of persuasive letters known as the Federal Papers. These papers were published in the New York papers.
In 1789, he became a big force behind the Bill of Rights, and submitting his suggestions to the Constitution of Congress. His biggest suggestion was to ensure Americans were able to have freedom of speech. One of his biggest accomplishments was in 1808 where he ran as a Democratic-Republican. Through all of his amazing actions and depth of knowledge, he gave a an amazing new type of government. His ideas shaped a nation, and gave us the rights that us Americans are still affected by today. James Madison is someone you call, one of a kind. Although, today there is someone similar to him in the way of his character, this person is Joe Biden.
Biden was a former Delaware Senate. He now is the U. S. Vice President to Barack Obama, (soon to be Donald Trump), and also a U. S. Representative. Biden plays a great impact on todays society and plans for greatness in this country. He was one youngest men ever to be elected in the United States Senate, and has worked in government for 36 years. Like Madison, he works to be a leader for many important key issues. Doing this, he works with his fellow coworker Obama. Obama is probably one of Biden’s biggest influences. I see it as Obama is to Biden, is the same as Jefferson was to Madison.
Biden and Madison are similar in the way of the leadership skills, the years they worked in government, and their relationships with their co-workers. In conclusion, James Madison showed us what a true hero is like. A hero like him doesn’t hold back. Madison was never a follower, but a leader. He may of had help on the way, but his knowledge was greatly valued. Like he had said,” Knowledge will forever govern ignorance” (Madison, 1822), and that is something we should always remember. Our knowledge like his can play a great role in our lives, and we know it did for him.