How Did James Madison Improve Government

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James Madison, what has he done to improve our government and make America better? Well, he has done quite a bit, whether it was while he was secretary of state, or as our president, he did just as much as he thought would make America and her occupants better. Not many people know what Madison did as our leader, or why, so if I can help inform you that would make my day! Ever wondered how the constitution or bill of rights came along? They are both a huge part of our government, so you would think we would think about it more often. Well, we don’t and that’s ok, most people don’t sit down and think about how the bill of rights came to be, or how it’s lasted so long. Usually we hear a bit about it from our eight grade history book then, just …show more content…

After finishing school he took a deep interest in the relationship between America and Britain. In 1775 (preparing for the American Revolutionary War) he was appointed colonel in Orange county militia; after becoming very sick, he gave up the military life and dug into politics. As a Virginia legislator, he became close with Thomas Jefferson. Madison made it his goal to fight for religious freedom, claiming we have had the right from birth. He became a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, in 1780, and eventually left three years later, back to Virginia, to help work on a religious freedom statute. Shortly after, he was called back to congress to join in the writing of the constitution. The Articles of Confederation were created as the first constitution for the U.S. in 1776, after we claimed independence from Britain. This gave the legislatures most of the power, then acted more as individual countries, other than one unified country, which tore our ability to maintain national debt, and keep a proper army. Madison immediately stepped in and created a system of checks and balances so no branch had more power over the other. To help manage state legislators, he recommended that we enhance the roles of governors and judges in our government. In 1778, delegates from each state gathered and he was able to present his ideas for a more effective