James Madison’s work at the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787 earned him the title “Father of the Constitution.” He drafted most of the document and argued eloquently in the Federalist Papers for its ratification. His notes on the Convention provide history’s definitive record of the Constitution’s creation.

As a member of Congress from Virginia, Madison pushed for the passage of the initial amendments to the Constitution, which became the Bill of Rights. As partisanship increased, Madison and Jefferson created the breakaway Democratic-Republican Party. Madison served as Jefferson’s secretary of state, overseeing the Louisiana Purchase. In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the White House.

With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Madison became the first president to lead the nation in battle, taking command of the American troops on the Bladensburg (Maryland) battlefield. In 1814, when the British seized the capital, first lady Dolley Madison courageously refused to leave the White House until the portrait of George Washington and other national treasures were safely carted away—actions which endeared her to the nation. The British later burned the Capitol, the White House and other public buildings.

After his presidency, Madison and his wife returned to their Virginia estate where they lived until his death in June 1836. Among his papers, an article intended for posthumous publication was discovered. In it he pleaded that “the Union of the states be cherished and perpetuated.”