James Madison (1751-1836) was one of the leading promoters for the independence of the American colonies. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Madison was elected a member of the convention which drew up the Virginia constitution. In 1780 he was a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Convention and during the three years of that body he strongly advocated the establishment of a central government. As a member of the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention which was convened in 1787 in Philadelphia, Madison drew up an outline for the Convention which basically was an expansion of the Virginia Constitution. Among the more notable features was the concept of a balanced system of government in which national authority would be limited by reserving certain powers to local governments and to the people. The creation of a national chief executive and the establishment of a bicameral national legislature were other key contributions made by Madison. The final draft of the Constitution embodied his belief that liberty and the rights of property could best be harmonized and secured in a federal republic with powers divided between the individual states and a supreme federal government, each with internal checks and balances to prevent the rise of arbitrary power. Because of these significant contributions, as well as his advocacy for ratification of the Constitution by the new states, James Madison has been rightly called the Father of the Constitution. This paper will examine Madison=s many contributions to the Constitution and their significance.
The United States Constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Convention which was held from May 25 to September 17, 1787 and became effective in 1789 following its ratification by the states. Twelve states were represented by 55 delegates at the Convention. Although George Washington was chosen as president of the Convention, it was James Madison who was ...