James Madison

James Madison (March 16, 1751 - June 28, 1836) was the son James Madison, Sr., and Nelly Conway whose were rich tobacco merchants in Virginia. In his early childhood, his education was taken care by Donald Robertson and later by Reverend Thomas Martin .Thomas Martin encouraged to do further studies in the college and later in 1769 he got admission into the College of New Jersey. He was a polyglot and spoke many classical languages with ease. Later on he married Dolley Payne Todd, a widow on September 15, 1794, and adopted her son John Payne Todd. While in service in the Virginia State Legislature (1776 - 1779), he came under the influence of Thomas Jefferson who helped him get actively involved in the Virginia politics. James Madison was an able politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States (1809 - 1817) and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He has also responsible for having formed the Republican party and had worked with George Washington in the in the setting up of the Federal government. Both he and Thomas Jefferson in protest against the Sedation Acts and published the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798.As a Secretary of State he negotiated the purchase of the Louisiana Purchase and adding it to the Union. However, he is remembered for his role in the infamous Embargo Act of 1897 and for the War of 1812 against Britain. He also had to face many obstacles during his tenure like a discordant cabinet, a factious party, a resistive Congress, uncooperative governors, and incompetent generals and troops who refused to fight outside their states. Most serious was lack of unified popular support. The positive side of his Presidency is the imposition of high tariff to boost industries and the creation of the second nationalist bank for easy flow of currency and the maintenance of a strong defense for the protection of the country.