[James Madison]

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Jun 08th 2011 06:13
James Madison was born on March 16th, 1751 at Port Conway, Orange County, Virginia. His father was James Madison and ran the family plantation of 5000 acres with 100 slaves. His mother was Eleanor "Nelly" Conway. He was the oldest of 14 children. He was a great reader and got a good education. In 1771, he finished the College of New Jersey in just 2 years.

His first public office was Orange County Committee of Safety in 1774. The American Revolution began in 1775. But he prevented from joining the military because of poor health. He served in the Constitutional Congress and he was one of the youngest delegates. As serving in the Virginia legislature in 1776, he met Thomas Jefferson and became lifelong friend. He married Dolly Payne Todd with her son, John Payne Todd, in 1797. They had no child and raised Dolly's son. He was known as "The smallet U.S. President," because he was 5'6" tall and only weighed 100lbs..

He attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787,where his Virginia Plan was presented. It was a proposal provided for a stronger national government and became the basic prinsiple of the U.S. Constitution. On September, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, he wrote "The Federalist Papers," which explained and promoted U.S. Constitution. In 1789, serving in the first U.S. House of Representative, he sponsored the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constituion. It provided freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

In 1801, President Jefferson appointed him a Secretary of State. He purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. It was the beginning of the American westward expansion to the Pacific. In 1809, He became the 4th U.S. President. In 1812, He declared the war against the Great Britain, and the War of 1812 began. It is called "Mr. Madison's War." In 1814 the Treaty of Ghent was signed. He removed Britain's obstruction and brought open trade.

"The Federalist Papers" was called one of the most important books published in the U.S.. So he was known as "The Father of the Constituion." He successfully led the nation through the War of 1812, so it was called "Mr. Madison's peace" and "The Era of Good Feelings." He retired to his Virginia plantation in 1817. He advised other politicians. He carried on Jefferson's work as a rector at University of Virginia. He died on June 28th, 1836 at Montpelier, Virginia.

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This is my daughter's biography assignment(Actually I wrote...) Please correct the error!