A child was born on the 16th of March in 1751 on Belle Grove, a plantation located in Port Conway, Virginia. This child was the eldest of his parents’ twelve children, and was from a very well-off family. His father gained wealth by inheritance, while his mother was a daughter of an affluent tobacco merchant. During his youth, he suffered from different types of illnesses which held him off from doing a lot of activities that other children were able to do. Nevertheless, little did we know that this child grew up as the person who our nation now know as the “Father of Constitution.”
James Madison Jr., the fourth president of the United States of America, and one of the country’s founding fathers. Because of the achievements that he has done, he became widely recognized as one of the best presidents that the country has ever had. James Madison has contributed tremendous platforms and accomplishments which greatly impacted the lives of every individual in the country.
In December 1774, at the age of twenty-three, James Madison became a junior member of the local Committee of Safety in Orange County. The committee was the beginning of James Madison’s life as a government official. The Committee of Safety was chaired by his father, and was aided by his family’s wealth. According to the article titled “James Madison: Early Days in Politics” on SparkNotes’ website, it says that “this committee was part of a movement to boycott British manufacturers.” It also says that Madison, and the other men in his committee and in Virginia, were standing publicly against the British (n.pag.). During his time being part of the committee, Madison learned a lot about politics which aided him throughout his whole political journey.
After he joined the committee, he became more and more interested in being part of other political affairs in the country. According to American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and Beyond’s article titled “James Madison (1751-1836)”, it says that in 1780, he was picked to embody Virginia in the Continental Congress. It also says that even with being the youngest delegate in the said congress, he was still able to act a major part in the conference (n.pag.).
During the said convention, Madison, and all the other fifty six delegates were able to create a new constitution. They met secretly on the summer of 1787; and finally, on September 17, 1787, the congress delegates signed what is now known as the U.S. Constitution. This whole event means that age was never a hindrance to James Madison since he was able to demonstrate the great qualities of a great leader. He clearly had a tremendous future in the field of government.
Moving on, on the 4th of March in the year 1809, James Madison became the fourth president of the United States of America. According to Richard Brookhiser, author of a book titled James Madison, James Madison said that “[h]e put his trust in his “purposes” and “principles,” the main ones being neutrality, support of the Constitution, economy, and a limited military” (181). This statement was the embodiment of his presidential career. He made sure that his decisions were deeply related to this proclamation.
There is no doubt that James Madison has obtained success as the country’s president. Some of his vast achievements were written on the University of Virginia’s Miller Center’s article titled “James Madison – Key Events”, for example, the occupation of West Florida in 1810, the victory on the Battle of Tippecanoe, and granting statehood to Louisiana and Indiana (n.pag.). James Madison was able to captivate the hearts of the Americans through his outstanding work during his time in the office.
Even with all these great achievements, James Madison made some wrong decisions too. According to an article on No Pun Intended’s website titled “The Worst Thing Every President Has Done,” it says that James Madison’s decision to veto the charter of the Second National Bank has left our country with no money during the War of 1812 (n.pag.). This means that like the other presidents, James Madison can make some verdicts which are also impractical to the country.
Since James Madison was one of the country’s founding fathers, all his platforms and accomplishments were some of the roots of the nation’s incredible past. If he was able to carry out all his political agendas successfully throughout his presidential career, it would have tremendously affected the verdicts of the all the presidents who succeeded him, especially James Monroe’s. These presidents would have probably changed some of their platforms, and because of this, the country’s laws and regulations would have been also a little different to what it currently is right now.
James Madison Jr., one of the presidents which cultivated the American history. His exceptional service to the nation made the people treasure him. He is one of the best presidents that the United States of America has ever had.
Bibliography
American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and Beyond. “James Madison (1751-1836)”. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/james-madison/. Accessed 31 October 2017.
Brookhiser, Richard. James Madison. Basic Books. 2011. p.181
No Pun Intended. “The Worst Thing Every President Has Done”. https://npinopunintended.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/the-worst-thing-every-president-has-done/. Accessed 31 October 2017.
Spark Notes. “James Madison: Early Days in Politics”. http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/madison/section2.rhtml. Accessed 31 October 2017.
Miller Center. “James Madison – Key Events”. University of Virginia. https://millercenter.org/president/james-madison/key-events/. Accessed 31 October 2017.