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Fourth U.S. president; born in Port Conway, Va. After his education at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton), he returned to Virginia and in 1774 assumed the first of several positions in state government. In 1780 he began three years as a state delegate to the Congress under the Articles of Confederation, where he advocated a stronger national government. As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1784--86), he secured passage of Thomas Jefferson's landmark religious freedom bill. A primary mover behind the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Madison imprinted many of his ideas on the final document; he stressed the need for a strong central government; he skillfully managed many of the necessary compromises; although not the official secretary, he kept the most complete record of the convention; and he would be instrumental in adding the Bill of Rights; for these contributions, history has dubbed him "father of the Constitution." Although Madison joined with Federalists Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in contributing to the Federalist papers, he moved thereafter to the more liberal Jeffersonian Republican side. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1789--97) and then as President Jefferson's secretary of state (1801--09). Elected president (1809--17), he was unable to resist the forces, both domestic and foreign, that led to the War of 1812, which produced the burning of Washington and no real victory. Nonetheless, he left office in 1817 enjoying considerable popularity. Living on his estate at Montpelier (Va.), he was Jefferson's successor as rector of the University of Virginia (1826--36). He opposed such doctrines as nullification and peaceful secession that would eventually lead to the Civil War.