Madison High School in Vienna opened in 1959.
The school is named for James Madison, Jr.,
the fourth president of the United States
of America.
James Madison, Jr. was born in 1751 at Belle
Grove Plantation in King George County, Virginia.
His parents, James Madison, Sr. and Eleanor
Rose Conway, owned the large plantation called
Mount Pleasant near Orange, Virginia.
In the early 1760s, James Madison, Sr. built
a new home named Montpelier, where the future
president was raised and where he returned
to in his later years.
James Madison, Jr. was educated at Innes Plantation
in King and Queen County, Virginia.
In 1769, he enrolled at the College of New
Jersey, now known as Princeton University,
where he took a keen interest in history,
political philosophy, law, and theology.
During the American Revolution, Madison was
elected to the Virginia state legislature
where he became a protege of then delegate
Thomas Jefferson.
After the revolution, Madison served in the
Continental Congress where his Virginia Plan
helped lay the foundation for the United States
Constitution.
In 1789, Madison was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives, where he served until
1797.
During this time in office, Madison proposed
several amendments to the Constitution which
helped frame the Bill of Rights.
In 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd,
an effervescent young widow whose first husband
and youngest son had died in a Yellow Fever
epidemic.
James and Dolley did not have any children
of their own.
In the early 1800s, Madison served as Secretary
of State under then president Thomas Jefferson
and was instrumental in securing the Louisiana
Purchase.
In 1808, when he was 57 years old, James Madison
was elected President of the United States
and moved into the White House.
In 1812, tensions over several issues between
the United States and Great Britain erupted
into all-out war.
In August, 1814, British forces invaded Maryland,
overrunning American militia at the Battle
of Bladensburg.
The British army marched on Washington, DC,
setting fire to the Capitol building and the
White House among others.
President Madison and the First Lady were
forced to flee to safety in Fairfax County,
traveling by separate routes.
Before leaving the White House, the First
Lady ensured that many valuable articles,
like this famous portrait of George Washington,
were taken with her and preserved.
The war continued for several months after
the burning of Washington, finally ending
with the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814.
James Madison finished out the remainder of
his second term as president and retired to
his Montpelier estate in 1817.
During the early 1830s, Madison spoke out
against the states' rights movement that threatened
to destabilize the Union and foreshadowed
the coming American Civil War.
James Madison passed away in June 1836 and
was buried at Montpelier.
After his death, a note Madison had written
was opened in which he stated, "The advice
nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions
is that the Union of the States be cherished
and perpetuated."
Many educational institutions throughout the
United States are named in his honor.
