In 1787, James Madison wrote a document called the Virginia Plan.
James presented this document to a number of delegates at a series of meetings
that were known as the Constitutional Convention.
Madison's plan would serve as the basis for the United States Constitution,
and he would come to be known as the Father of the Constitution.
Seven years later, in 1794, James married a young widow named Dolley Payne.
Together, James and Dolley lived at the Madison family plantation in Montpelier.
In 1801, James Madison was elected as the fourth president of the United States.
He led our country through many difficult times, including the War of 1812,
the first American war since the United States had become an independent nation.
In 1814, while our nation was still at war, British soldiers invaded and destroyed the White House.
Dolley Madison saved many valuables from the fire,
but much of our nation's capitol would have to be rebuilt after the war was over.
James Madison served as president for sixteen years.
He outlived every other signer of the Constitution, and died in 1836, at the age of 85.
He was a great American, president, and founding father of our nation.
