James Madison was the son of a poor tobacco farmer who owned over 5,000 acres and dozens of slaves. From ages 11-16 Madison was sent to work under Donald Robertson, a wealthy plantation owner. After leaving Robertson, Madison decided to go to Princeton University in New Jersey. After graduating, Madison became interested in the political ties between …show more content…
He was a Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson's presidency (1801-1809)[1] but as Jefferson’s 2nd term was winding down, Madison rose to the challenge. Madison quickly beat out James Monroe and in 1809, Madison was inaugurated President of the United States. When Madison came into office in 1809, the federal government had a surplus of $9,500,000. By 1810 the National debt had been reduced, and taxes were cut [1] . Madison also founded the Democratic- Republican Parties. He believed that everyone who wanted ratification of the Constitution was Federalist, or Republican, and the people that didn’t want the Constitution ratified were the anti-federalist, or the Democrats. Although these parties were established 200 years ago, they are still in place and they are still something that splits our country to this