Madison, James, 1751-1836
James Madison was born on March 16, 1751 at Belle Grove Plantation in Port Conway, Virginia. He was the eldest of twelve children. After studying with Donald Robertson until the age of 16, he prepared for college with the Reverend Thomas Martin. In 1769, unlike most from his area of the South, he did not attend William and Marry, but instead enrolled in the College of New Jersey, now called Princeton University, where he met William Bradford and Aaron Burr. Madison joined in politics in 1774 after joining the Patriots and was commissioned as a Colonel in the Orange County Militia. He helped to write the first Virginia constitution and participated in the debates concerning the Articles of Confederation, specifically contributing to the discussion on religious freedom. Known as the “Father of the Constitution” James Madison was instrumental in establishing the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. James Madison served as the Fourth President of the United States, succeeding Thomas Jefferson. He died at Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia, at the age of 85.