James Madison - Orange County VA
N 38° 13.072 W 078° 10.491
17S E 747328 N 4233762
James Madison, a founding father of the country and grandfather of the Constitution, is buried at Montpelier.
Waymark Code: WM8N13
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2010
Views: 8
James Madison served on the Orange County Committee of Safety in 1774, after returning home to his father's estate in Virginia two years earlier after studying in New Jersey. In 1776, James Madison was chosen as a delegate to a new Virginia convention that voted for independence from British rule and drafted a new constitution.
During the Revolutionary War, Madison served on the council of state under Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779 and proved to be a leader during the first stages of America's new government. Through his contributions to the Federalist papers, he helped secure the passage of the Bill Of Rights which he also drafted. In 1788, he won a hard-fought battle in which he debated formidable opponents such as Patrick Henry to see the Constitution ratified.
In 1836, the last founding father of the country, James Madison, died and was buried in the family cemetery at his lifelong home of Montpelier in Orange County, VA. On the brick wall surrounding the cemetery near his grave, the William Byrd Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution installed a plaque in 1936 commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death.
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