Get Started

Photo of james madison

James Madison

4th President of the United States

1751–1836

Biography

James Madison (1751-1836), the fourth President of the United States, served from 1809 to 1817. He earned the title "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia, Madison co-authored the Federalist Papers, a series of 85 essays advocating for the ratification of the Constitution, alongside Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. During his presidency, he led the nation through the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Madison also played a critical role in establishing the Democratic-Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson. He died on June 28, 1836, at his Montpelier estate in Virginia.

About

Born March 16, 1751

Died June 28, 1836

Birthplace Port Conway, Virginia, United States

Nationality American

Education Bachelor of Arts

School Princeton University

Resting Place Montpelier, Virginia, United States

Popular Quotes

"The legitimate meaning of the Constitution is not to be found in metaphysical subtleties"

Philosophy Justice Politics Government

"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare"

Freedom Independence Peace Conflict

"Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires"

Philosophy Freedom Politics Liberty

"The interests of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place"

Government Democracy Governance Political philosophy

"Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages"

Nature Well-being Journey Adventure

"The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests"

Diversity Individualism Political philosophy Economic philosophy

"A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person"

Government Democracy Governance Political philosophy

"If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved"

Empowerment Knowledge Freedom Education

"In our governments, the real power lies in the majority of the community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from acts of government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the government is the mere instrument of the major number of the constituents."

Democracy Political philosophy Political theory Individual rights

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. "

Government Political philosophy Tyranny Checks and balances

"War should only be declared by the authority of the people, whose toils and treasures are to sustain its burdens, instead of the government which is to reap its fruits. "

Conflict Government Authority Democracy

"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise. "

Philosophy Creativity Freedom Religion

"The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments in times of peace and security. "

Peace Politics War Danger

"In framing a government, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself"

Governance Political philosophy Power dynamics Political theory

"The safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim"

Happiness Society Government Safety