James Madison

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James Madison is mostly known for a reason he probably did not like to be known for. That would be his height. Standing in at a whopping five feet four inches tall, and weighing 100 pounds, James Madison did more for this country than most full-sized men. Madison was important to our history because of three reasons. He was a good politician, a key contributor to the Constitution, and was the 4th president of the United States. Madison was born on March 16, 1751 in Orange County, Virginia. He was the oldest of twelve siblings. Some may think twelve kids is a lot to handle for Madison’s parents, but only seven of his siblings made it to adulthood. The other five died in infancy. Madison grew up on his father’s property called Montpelier. Later on in life, he inherits the estate and the property and marries Dolley Madison. James had one stepson named John. Madison lived on Montpelier his entire life except for the years he lived in the White house during his presidency. Madison had a great education, too. In 1762, he was sent to boarding school. He didn’t really enjoy it and left after five years. In 1769, Madison graduated from the University of Princeton’s law school. Back in his day Princeton had another name. It was known as the College of New Jersey (About the White House). Madison held a position in many public offices. In 1774, Madison was elected to the Orange County Committee of Safety (Bio. True Story). This was the very beginning to a very promising and successful political career. In 1776, Madison was elected as an Orange County Representative at the Virginia Convention. In that same year, Madison actually drafted Virginia’s State Constitution. The following year, 1777, Madison was appointed to the Governor’s Council ... ... middle of paper ... ...n-existent. Also, without his contributions to the Constitutional Conventions, our government would be completely different in structure. Finally, I believe that James Madison was living proof of the old, corny saying, “Big things come in small packages.” Works Cited Cayton, Andrew et. Al. America Pathways to the Present. New Jersey Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005 Print “James Madison.” About the White House. White House 2006 19 Nov 2013. . “James Madison.” Bio. True Story. A&E Television Network N.D. 11 Nov 2013 . “James Madison’s Contribution to the Constitution.” America’s Story. Library of Congress. N.D. 10 Dec 2013 . "James Madison Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .

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