“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?”
Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)
| 1751 |
Born March 16. Raised on his father's plantation, Montpelier, in Orange County, Virginia.
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| 1770 |
At age 19, entered the College of New Jersey (later Princeton).
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| 1772 |
Graduated from College of New Jersey. Began studies for the Christian Ministry.
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| 1772 |
Returned to Virginia, rejecting the idea of the ministry. Turned his attention to politics and embraced the patriot cause.
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| 1775 |
Appointed to the Orange County Committee of Safety. Later, elected to the Virginia convention.
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| 1776 |
Due to poor health, Madison did not fight in the American Revolution.
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| 1780's |
Served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress. As a member of Congress, he witnessed firsthand the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to address many of the problems among the states. Convinced that the Articles were too weak and needed to be altered or replaced. Madison set out on a determined campaign to organize a meeting of the states to discuss amending the Articles.
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| 1785 - 1786 |
He met with some success in regional meetings: The Mount Vernon Conference of 1785 and the Annapolis Convention of 1786. At Annapolis, Madison and other delagates began to organize a general meeting of all the states.
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| 1787 |
Representatives from the all the states except Rhode Island gather in Philadelphia to draft a new [Constitution]. Many of Madison's ideas were proposed by the Virginia Delegation early in the convention. = Virginia Plan. Madison played a major role as the convention proceded. He took detailed notes on the debates at the end of each day. Because the debates were secret, Madison's notes provide a valuable record of what happened during the convention.
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| 1787 |
Delegates approves the Constitution on September 17. "The final version closely resembled the main outlines of the Virginia Plan."
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| 1787 |
There was significant opposition to the Constitution, some believing that it vested too much power in a central government. Others opposed it because it lacked a bill of rights. Madison joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing a series of eighty-five essays in support of the Constitution. The essays, which were intended for New York newspaper readers, were also read in other states and helped to convince many to support the Consitution. We know these essays collectively as the Federalist Papers. Annonymous. Madison has subsequently been credited with writing over one-third of them. Madison attended the ratification convention in Virginia. During the convention, the Constitution went into affect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it on June 21, 1788.
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| 1788 |
Virginia ratifies the Constitution on June 25.
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| 1788 |
New York ratifies the Constitution on June 26.
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| 1789 |
Madison was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. "One of his rist actions was to guide a bill of rights through Congress. Madison proposed a list of 17 amendments, of which Congress approved twelve." The Bill of Rights were largely based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights authored by George Mason (who is credited with being the author of the Bill of Rights). Madison chaired the House/Senate conference committee who worked out the final language.
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| 1809 - 1817 |
Fourth president of the United States.
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| 1836 |
Died June 28.
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