James Madison's Life

James Madison was born on March 15, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia. He grew on a family-owned tobacco farm called Montpelier, where his mother and grandmother taught him how to read and write.  When he turned 11 he went off to a boarding school in King and Queen County, Virginia. He loved to read. He attended Princeton University and graduated.  In 1776, when he was 25,  he was elected to the Virginia Revolutionary Convention. He served in the Virginia legislature for one year before he lost in the re-election bid. He was appointed a member of the Governor's Council, which managed the Revolutionary War efforts. In 1784 he was elected to the Virginia legislature. He married Dolley Payne Todd; they did not have any children. Madison attended the Annapolis Convention as a delegate and then the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, in 1787. His understanding of government made him the leader in creating the Constitution;  he advocated a republican form of government in which  the people are sovereign but rule through elected representatives. In 1789 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives at the end of his term in 1801, he was appointed Secretary of State by Thomas Jefferson. In 1809 he was elected President of the United States. At this time British and French were at war.  After Britain attacked American ships, Madison reluctantly led our nation into war against Britain.  During the War of 1812 the White House was burned by the British. Madison left Washington D.C. in 1817 after serving two terms as President. He lived on his farm developing new methods of agriculture until he died on June 28, 1836. Note: James Madison was President from 1809 through 1817 and the Vice Presidents were George Clinton and Elbridge Gerry.