James Madison was born in the home of his mother's parents on March 16,1751., about 12 miles from Fredericksburg. James was the oldest of 12 children. The families of his father, James Madison, and his mother, Nelly Conway Madison had settled in Virginia during the 1600's. Many slaves worked on the Madison plantation. James was always a sickly child. He studied with private tutors and attended the Donald Robertson School in King and Queen County. At the age of 18 , he entered the College of New Jersey which is now Princeton University. He took an interest in politics and was an early member of the American Whig Society. Madison studied hard and was able to graduate in two years which was in 1771. After that Madison spent the next six months studying Hebrew, philosophy, and other subjects that showed his deep interest in religious questions. A weak speaking voice prevented him from taking up a career as a minister. He soon turned his attention to politics. .
Madison entered politics in 1774, when he was elected to the Committee of Safety in Orange County, Virginia. Committees of this kind provided local government in the days that the British colonial government was crumbling. In 1776, Madison helped draft a new Virginia constitution and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Other colonies later drew upon these documents in writing their own constitutions. Madison took his seat in Congress in March 1780. In those days, Congress had no power to raise taxes and found it difficult to pay national debts. Madison strongly favored increasing the powers of Congress in financial matters. In 1787 Madison represented Virginia at the Constitutional Convention. Although only 36 years old, he took a leading part. He fought for a stronger central government and drafted the Virginia Plan for the union. This plan, also called the Randolph Plan, foreshadowed the constitution that the convention finally adopted.