James Madison was born in Conway, Virginia on March 16, 1751. Madison grew up in Orange County, Virginia where he would spend most of his life. Madison was the oldest of 12 siblings. His father, James, was a successful and influential planter that owned more than 3,000 acres and many slaves. Later on In 1762, Madison was sent to a boarding school. Five years later he went back to his father's place in Orange County, Virginia. His father had him stay home and receive private tutoring because he was concerned about Madison's health. Madison later in life would experience series of bad health throughout his life. After two years with his father, James Madison went to college in 1769, enrolling at the College of New Jersey (it is now known as Princeton University.) While …show more content…
He became a champion for the separation of church and state and helped get Virginia's Statute of Religious Freedom, a revised version of a document penned by Jefferson in 1777, passed in 1786. The following year, Madison tackled an even more challenging government composition called the U.S. Constitution. Madison had helped develop Virginia's Constitution 11 years earlier, and it was his "Virginia Plan" that served as the basis for debate in the development of the U.S. Constitution. After an enormous study of other world governments, came to the conclusion that America needed a strong federal government in order to help regulate the state legislatures and create a better system for raising federal money. Madison argued strongly for a strong central government that would unify the country. Therefore he was an anti federalist. The Convention delegates met secretly through the summer and soon finally signed the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. But that is not all, he is also credited with writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the "Father of the