Madison, JAMES

Madison, JAMES, fourth president of the United States, was born at Port Conway, Virginia, March 16, 1751, graduated at Princeton in 1772, and studied law. In 1776 he was a member of the Virginia Convention, and took a useful part in drawing up the state constitution. His life from this time was devoted to politics, and he became one of the most eminent, accomplished, and respected of American statesmen. In 1780 he was elected to the Continental congress, and in 1784 to the legislature of Virginia, in which he was chiefly instrumental in securing the recognition of the right to religious liberty. But at this period anarchy was threatening the young republic, which hitherto had been but a loose confederation of states. Congress was a deliberative body merely; its members represented states only, and its powers were practically confined to that of giving advice. Madison was active in bringing about the Convention of 1787, which framed the Federal constitution. There he acted with Jay and Hamilton, and with them wrote the Federalist. He was the chief author of the 'Virginia plan,' which even went some way towards disregarding state rights. He also suggested the important compromise under which, whether in apportioning taxation or representation, slaves were to be regarded as population and not chattels, but five were reckoned as three persons—the so-called 'three-fifths rule,' which secured the adoption of the constitution by South Carolina and the other slave-holding states. A month's discussion and all Madison's arguments were necessary before the Virginia Convention was brought to ratify the constitution, and that only by 89 votes to 79. Madison was elected to the first national congress. He had done as much as any man, perhaps, to secure the adoption of the constitution, but he now showed himself anxious to limit the powers of the central government to the strict letter of their commission therein contained. He opposed the financial policy of Hamilton, and became a leader of the Republican or Jeffersonian party. In 1801, Jefferson having been elected president, Madison was made secretary of state, which post he held during the eight years of Jefferson's administration. In 1809 he was elected president. The European wars of that period, with their blockades and orders in council, were destructive of American commerce, and ultimately brought on a war with England, which was declared in 1812, and continued for two years, at an enormous cost of life and treasure. In 1817, at the close of his second term, Madison retired to his seat at Montpelier, Virginia, where he died, June 28, 1836. Modest and reserved, courteous and kindly, he is a pleasant as well as an important figure in American history. He was not a brilliant man, but he was a statesman of eminent ability and purity of character. See the Lives by Rives (Boston, 3 vols. 1859-68) and Gay ('American Statesmen' series, 1884).