How Did James Madison Contribute To The Constitution

James Madison is one of the Founding Fathers of our nation. He was called the “Father of the Constitution” for drafting and promoting it. He played a major role in American politics, especially in the War of 1812. As President, he left a major mark on American history.

James Madison Jr. was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia. As a child, he was pale and frail, rarely straying from his parent’s sight. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, and lived on a plantation. As he stayed in the house most of the time, he developed a love of reading and knowledge. As he got older, he also took an interest in politics, and the Revolution that was occurring in America. He worked as a plantation owner before becoming part of the Virginia

Though the youngest member, he still had many good ideas and gained respect from many of his peers. He was a firm believer in nullification, or the belief that states could nullify unjust laws, and state’s rights. He was called the “Father of The Constitution” for his work in creating it(Isenburg, Burstein, 136). He also proposed what came to be the Virginia Plan. Most importantly, he made some of the first steps to recognizing slaves as people. He proposed that since the slaves may get rights in the future, they shouldn’t be treated as animals or property. This helped put the Three-Fifths Compromise in motion, and helped people recognize slaves as

The Articles of Confederation gave the government little organization, and the states were separated, making their own money and not interacting. When Madison saw this, he immediately supported the ratification of the Constitution. He worked with Alexander Hamilton to create the Federalist papers and the Federalist Party. The papers were meant to convince people to support the ratification of the Constitution. People who supported the ratification were called Federalists. Eventually, the Constitution was ratified, and in later years, Madison drafted the Bill of Rights to protect the people.

During the forming of America, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were both close friends and important politicians. Madison and Jefferson’s friendship was incredibly important to America’s history. They would write back and forth to each other, and worked together during the Revolution and during America’s early days. When Jefferson was elected to the Presidency, Madison was selected by him to serve, helping with matters of foreign relation, including the Louisiana Purchase, and was one of Jefferson’s closest