Ellie+S.+-+CRD+-+SP12

__James Madison: "Father of the Constitution"__

**Position:** Federalist [one of the authors of //The Federalist Papers [1788]// (along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay) ]

**State Representing:** Virginia, a big plantation state mostly made up of wealthy landowners. This was one of the most esteemed and powerful states. Because the population was made up of a lot of black slaves as well as wealthy whites, Virginians highly supported the idea of counting all of a state's population for delegates and votes in the legislature.

**Occupation and Background:** Madison was born on March 16th, 1751. His father was a wealthy landowner, like most of Virginia's delegation. He gained his education at Princeton University in New Jersey. Madison then made a career of politics. He was a part of the Virginia Convention (helping develop their constitution) and Virginia House of Delegates in 1776, served in Congress between 1780 and 1783, and attended the Constitutional Convention (1787).

**Constitutional Convention:** Madison's "Virginia Plan" was the basis for the debate of the Constitution. He thought that the Articles of Confederation were essentially flawed in placing ultimate soverign power in thirteen seperate states rather than one nation. The argument he conveyed was that for a strong central government that was operated by the citizens rather than the states. Also, he introduced the first ten amendments to the Constitution (Bill of Rights).

**Virginia Ratification Convention:** Madison was a main delegate in Virginia's Ratifying Convention. He voted for the Constitution's ratification.

**Constitutional Position:** "The states fail to comply with the constitutional requisitions." Since the ratification of the Articles, the states have gone their own way rather than follow it so their destructive behavior has been thought of as a part of the current system. "Encroachments by the states on the federal authority." Examples of this include the wars and treaties of GA with the Indians, the unlicensed compacts between VA & MD and PA & NJ, and the troops raised / kept up by MA. "V iolations of the law of nations and of treaties." America was being taken advantage of by outside forces, like Spain and Britain, as well as those unhappy with the system within the country (Shays's Rebellion). America couldn't control its people or fight back against outside forces because of its lack of a centralized government.


 * Bibliography: **
 * Dudley, William. "Viewpoint 3: James Madison." The Creation of the Constitution: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1995. 36-40. Print.


 * Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. "The Confederation and the Constitution." //The American pageant: a history of the Republic//. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. 166-189. Print.


 * Library of Congress. "James Madison's Contribution to the Constitution." America's Story from America's Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. 


 * Lloyd, Gordon . "Introduction to the Virginia Ratification Convention." TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. 


 * Madison, James. "Viewpoint 3: James Madison." The Creation of the Constitution: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1995. 36-40. Print.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mattern, David. "Papers of James Madison, University of Virginia." University of Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://www.virginia.edu/pjm/biography1.htm>