One of the greatest of the Founding Fathers, James Madison earned the title "Father of the Constitution"; he organized the interstate conventions at Mt. Vernon and Annapolis that led to the Constitutional Convention; he created much of the Virginia Plan, used as the basis for the final version of the U.S. Constitution, and contributed immensely to the Convention's success; he led the group that won ratification of the Constitution in Virginia; and he wrote Federalist Papers that lucidly explained the value of the system of government embodied in the Constitution. And in the First Congress he sponsored and obtained adoption of the Bill-of-Rights Amendments.

In the 1780s Madison recognized that the States must have a united commercial policy in order to deal effectively with foreign nations, and, not daring to hope for as much as a new constitution, he helped organize the interstate conventions at Mt. Vernon and Annapolis, which were to deal solely with commercial matters. At Annapolis, Madison, Hamilton and others were able to call for the convention in Philadelphia.

Several years before the Convention Madison began studying books on political philosophy and constitutional law that Thomas Jefferson sent him from Paris. He was well prepared to help draft the Virginia Plan, with its proposal for a truly national government. At the Convention he was clearly the best informed on political theory, and his vast knowledge, ready intelligence, and quiet reasonableness won him the respect--and the ear--of every delegate.

Besides taking the most complete notes of the proceedings of the Convention, Madison himself was involved in almost all deliberations of important points. With George Mason, Madison insisted that the people, rather than the State legislatures, must elect elect at least one branch of the national legislature--thus creating an entirely new political relationship that would give the citizen of every State direct representation in the national government.

More than any other man, Madison helped devise the unique division of powers between the national and State governments that was finally adopted. With a profound understanding of the needs of the States, he served as a moderating force between George Mason, the champion of individual liberty, and Alexander Hamilton, the champion of a strong central government. From the Virginia Plan to the Bill of Rights, no man contributed more.

Once the new government was formed, Madison continued to contribute: in the First Congress he helped prepare the legislation that established the departments of the Executive branch; in 1798 he wrote the "Virginia Resolution," which challenged the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts; as Secretary of State he was involved in the purchase of Louisiana Territory; and, as President, he led the nation through a war with England that cost him popularity but finally settled the question of American independence.

Source : Vincent Wilson, Jr, The Book of the Founding Fathers (1974, Brookeville, Maryland: American History Research Associates, 1985) 46.