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Who were the writers of the
To ask is similar to asking who wrote the Bible. Yes, each book had a particular author, but they were inspired and dictated by God and historical events.
Who was the father of the constitution?
The most straightforward (but wrong) answer is that James Madison was the author of the in May of 1787 at the in Philadelphia.
James Madison wrote the constitution, but there were other authors.
Perhaps the most admirable thing about James Madison was that he refused to take credit for composing the US , insisting that although he wrote such an important historical document, it was a collection of several other ideas and beliefs on democracy. If you study the United States constitution, you will understand that the concept of a collection of ideas is highly accurate and made way for the rest of American history and its independence.
Early Life of James Madison
Born on March 16th, 1751, James Madison was the eldest of twelve children. James and his siblings were given a privileged life filled with love and education on a 2600 acre plantation in Port Conway, Virginia. At the age of 18, Madison went to the College of New Jersey, which is now known as Princeton University.
Upon graduating from college, James developed a profound interest in political matters which introduced him to the idea of a constitution.
His brief attempt at a military career began when he was appointed as a colonel in his local militia during the Revolutionary War.
Because he was small and in poor health, he left his position three years later and switched to a political career. He was elected to be the youngest in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia during the year 1780. He left on his own accord in 1780 to focus his entire being on furthering the call for religious freedom and passing such a statute in his home Virginia.
During his time in the Continental Congress, he was highly influential. During that time, Madison drafted, wrote, and passed the Virginia Plan, which the country would utilize in years to come for writing the text of the . It outlined the three distinct branches of the :
- The executive branch of government
- The legislative branch of government
- The judicial branch of government.
It also introduced the notion of having a House and Senate forming the .
Articles of Confederation Demanding Change
Upon leaving the Continental Congress, Congress passed the Articles of in 1777, which served as the unofficial first form of an . Unfortunately, as helpful as the document was, the Articles of were full of flaws and needed to be reconstructed if they were to be used for the successful running of the country.
James Madison, along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, composed what came to be known as the . The were a radical series of thoughts and demands that boldly called for the revision of the Articles of , printed in the newspaper for all to read.
Writing the US
Finally, in 1787, James Madison was called back to the Continental Congress, where he joined 56 other delegates at the in Philadelphia. Congress determined that it would rectify the Articles of once and for all.
George presided over the . Soon after the convention began, on May 14, 1787, the delegates unanimously elected Washington to be the convention president.
At the on September 17th, 1787, James Madison formatted and wrote what we know as the US n. All fifty-six delegates signed it, giving their unyielding approval.
On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth to ratify the At that time, this was over half of the nation and was enough to make the Constitution the law of the land officially. Not long thereafter, upon creating the US House of Representatives, James Madison was among its first members.
Madison’s Later Career
Not only was James Madison monumental in the creation of the , but he also was allowed to compose much of the of Rights. In addition, he became influential in writing a particular essay on the importance of the separation of church and . Madison served as Vice to Thomas Jefferson, then in the year 1808.
James Madison was the first to officially declare war against Britain with the approval of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, starting the War of 1812. In fighting that war, Madison firmly believed that war emergencies were tests to adhere to the rather than ignore it altogether.
When the War of 1812 ended in February of 1815 with The Treaty of Ghent, it showed the rest of the world that America was a unified nation worthy of respect. As a result, James Madison ended up serving two presidential terms as Commander in Chief of America. While his presidential career had both highs and lows, he was ultimately viewed as a good who served America well and made her stronger.
He achieved everything he had originally set out to accomplish: established a national banking system, a successful taxation system, and a functional weaponized military. The vision he had for America, written within the Constitution’s pages, was finally coming together beautifully.
End of James Madison’s Life
James Madison retired from DC in 1817 with his beloved wife, Dolley, and lived out his days at the same plantation he grew up at. He was respected by all and known for his knowledge. He died peacefully over breakfast in his home on June 28th of the year 1836 from congestive heart failure. He was buried in the family cemetery, where his wife eventually joined him.
Remembering the man who wrote the US Constitution
Perhaps one of James Madison’s most famous quotes was one penned within the :
“If men were angels, no would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on would be necessary. In framing a which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
James Madison was incredibly influential in bringing about a free America, and we owe him our gratitude. As a nation, we must never forget where we came from and how hard our Founding Fathers fought to create a free nation.
