1750 March 16, 1751: James Madison, Jr., is born in Port Conway, Virginia, at his mother’s family home. He is the first of twelve children born to James and Nelly Madison. James, Jr., returns home to Orange County as an infant. James Madison, by Charles Wilson Peale, 1783. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress 1760 1762: James Madison, Jr., at the age of 11, begins his formal education at a boarding school in King and Queen County, Virginia. A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia, by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, 1755. Library of Congress. 1765 1765: The Madisons move into a new brick mansion one-fourth mile east of the family’s old farmhouse, Mount Pleasant. It is this new May 20, 1768: Dolley Payne is house that we today call Montpelier. 1765: Hello, Montpelier! born in the small Quaker community of New Garden in Rowan County (present day Guilford County), North Carolina. 1770 1772: Madison graduates from the College of New Jersey at Princeton after two years of study. He stays an additional year for post-graduate studies under the college’s president, John Witherspoon. 1774: James Madison is elected to his first political office as member of the Committee of Safety for Orange County. 1775 1776: Madison is elected a delegate to the Virginia 1776: James Madison and Thomas Convention and the Virginia General Assembly, Jefferson meet in Williamsburg and and is appointed to the committee to draft the begin a 50-year friendship. Virginia Declaration of rights. 1780 1780 - 1783: James Madison serves in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He is 29 years old, making him its youngest member. Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) 1752, site of Second Continental Congress 1785 1787: At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, James promotes his “Virginia Plan” for a new government. On September 17th, the Convention proposes a new constitution founded on Madison’s plan. 1787: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison begin writing the “Federalist Papers,” a series of newspaper articles explaining and defending the Constitution. June 21, 1788: The Constitution is ratified by nine of the thirteen states, thus making it the law of the land. 1789 – 1797: James Madison serves in the newly created House of Representatives in 1789. 1790 December 15, 1791: Ten of James Madison’s twelve amendments to the Constitution are ratified by Congress, thus creating our Bill of Rights. September 15, 1794: Within months of their first meeting in Philadelphia, James and 1795 Dolley Madison are wed. 1797: After serving four consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, James and 1797: Montpelier grows! Dolley decide to return to Montpelier. 1800 1801 - 1808: James Madison is appointed Secretary of State by the newly inaugurated President, Thomas 1803: Madison helps Jefferson in completing the Jefferson. Louisiana Purchase. Dolley collects local donations to support the Lewis and Clark expedition. Corps of Discovery Route, http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/map2_b.html, 12/5/2012 1805 November, 1808 - 1817: James Madison is elected the fourth President of the United States, making Dolley the First Lady. James Madison, by Gilbert Stuart, 1804.Colonial Williamsburg Collection. 1809: Montpelier grows again! Dolley Madison, by Gilbert Stuart, 1804.The White House Collection 1810 June 1812 - 1815: The United States declares war on Great Britain after many years of tension between the two countries. The War of 1812 was fought to protect American trade, ships, and borders from British interference. August, 1814: British forces march on Washington, D.C., and burn the White House and other public buildings. Dolley and slaves in the White House save a famous portrait of George Washington from the building before it burns. 1815 February, 1815: The Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Great Britain, officially ending the War of 1812 George Washington, by Gilbert Stuart, 1796. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. 1817: James and Dolley retire home to Montpelier. 1820 1825 1827: Charles Jared Ingersoll hails Madison as the Father of the Constitution: “If Washington was the father of our country, Mr. Madison is entitled to be considered the father of the Constitution, by which it has accomplished eminent prosperity and power.” James disagrees, “[The Constitution] ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands.” View of Life Mask of James Madison by John H. I. Browere, 1825. New York State Historical Association Collection. 1821: Madison begins editing his notes from the Constitutional Convention in 1787. His goal is to someday publish these notes so all can see the debates, compromises, and reasoning behind the Constitution. 1830 1834: James writes “Advice to My Country,” explaining to his countrymen his greatest wish for America: “The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.” 1835 James Madison, 1834 June 28, 1836: James Madison passes away at the age of 85 while eating breakfast in bed. He is buried the next day in the Madison family cemetery at Montpelier. James Madison, 1833, by Asher B. Durand. The New York Historical Society. 1840 1844: Congress passes a resolution to provide Dolley Madison a permanent seat on the floor of the House of Representatives. August 1844: Continuing financial troubles force Dolley to sell Montpelier. She moves permanently to Washington, D.C., where she had been living part time. 1845 Portrait of Dolley Madison, by Matthew Brady. Library of Congress. 1848: Congress purchases James Madison’s “Notes on the Constitutional Convention” from Dolley for $25,000. 1850 July 12, 1849: Dolley Madison passes away in her Washington, D.C. home at the age of 81. Her funeral on July 16th is the largest to date in the city.