About President James Madison

       James Madison, fourth President of the United States; born in Virginia, March 16, 1751; graduated at Princeton College in 1771; read law; was admitted to the bar, and in 1779 was elected to the Continental Congress, of which he became one of the most prominent leaders. He continued to serve in Congress most of the time until 1797, and was in 1787 a member of the National Convention at Philadelphia to form the Constitution of the United States. He contributed several able articles to The Federalist, and in 1801 entered the Cabinet of President Jefferson as Secretary of State, an office which he continued to fill until 1808, when he was elected President of the United States.
       War with England was declared June 18, 1812, and in the autumn of that year Mr. Madison was re-elected President. In August, 1814, Washington was taken by the British forces, and the Capitol was burned. The Treaty of Ghent was signed December 24, 1814, but before the government had received notice of it Gen. Jackson gained (January 8, 1815) the brilliant victory of New Orleans.

       President Madison approved in 1816 the bill for chartering the United States Bank, and retired from office March 4, 1817. He died June 28, 1836.

• James Madison - 4th U.S. President & Father of the Constitution

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