On This Day: Founding Father James Madison Was Born

This day in history, on March 16th, 1751, Founding Father James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia. As the 4th U.S. President, he played an important role in the formation of the new U.S. Constitution following the American Revolutionary War.

Madison inherited his plantation Montpelier in Virginia and therewith owned hundreds of slaves during his lifetime. He served as both a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as a member of the Continental Congress prior to the Constitutional Convention. After the Convention, he became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution, both in Virginia and nationally. His collaboration with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay produced The Federalist Papers, among the most important treatises in support of the Constitution. Madison’s political views changed throughout his life. During deliberations on the Constitution, he favored a strong national government, but later preferred stronger state governments, before settling between the two extremes later in his life.