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Founding Father, 4th president of the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Madison (March 16, 1751[lower-alpha 2] – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
James Madison | |
|---|---|
(c).jpg) 1816 portrait | |
| 4th President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817[1] | |
| Vice President |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| Succeeded by | James Monroe |
| 5th United States Secretary of State | |
| In office May 2, 1801 – March 3, 1809[3] | |
| President | Thomas Jefferson |
| Preceded by | John Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Robert Smith |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1797[4] | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | John Dawson |
| Constituency |
|
| Delegate from Virginia to the Congress of the Confederation | |
| In office November 6, 1786 – October 30, 1787[5] | |
| In office March 1, 1781 – November 1, 1783 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Madison Jr. March 16, 1751 Port Conway, Virginia |
| Died | June 28, 1836 (aged 85) Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic–Republican |
| Other political affiliations | Federalist (Until 1791) [6] [7] |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[8] |
| Spouse | |
| Parents | |
| Education | College of New Jersey (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | Virginia militia |
| Years of service | 1775–1776 1814 |
| Rank | Colonel Commander in Chief |
| Unit | Orange County Militia |
| Battles/wars | |
Madison was born into a prominent slave-owning planter family in Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the American Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention, which produced a new constitution designed to strengthen republican government against democratic assembly. Madison's Virginia Plan was the basis for the convention's deliberations. He became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution and joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays that remains prominent among works of political science in American history. Madison emerged as an important leader in the House of Representatives and was a close adviser to President George Washington. During the early 1790s, Madison opposed the economic program and the accompanying centralization of power favored by Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton. Alongside Thomas Jefferson, he organized the Democratic–Republican Party in opposition to Hamilton's Federalist Party. Madison served as Jefferson's Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809, during which time Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase.
Madison was elected president in 1808. Motivated by desire to acquire land held by Britain, Spain, and Native Americans, and after diplomatic protests with a trade embargo failed to end British seizures of American shipped goods, Madison led the United States into the War of 1812. Although the war ended inconclusively, many Americans viewed it as a successful "second war of independence" against Britain. Madison was re-elected in 1812. The war convinced Madison of the necessity of a stronger federal government. He presided over the creation of the Second Bank of the United States and the enactment of the protective Tariff of 1816. By treaty or through war, Native American tribes ceded 26,000,000 acres (11,000,000 ha) of land to the United States under Madison's presidency.
Retiring from public office at the end of his presidency in 1817, Madison returned to his plantation, Montpelier, and died there in 1836. Madison was a slave owner; he freed one slave in 1783 to prevent a slave rebellion at Montpelier, but did not free any in his will. Among historians, Madison is considered one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States. Leading historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president, although they are critical of his endorsement of slavery and his leadership during the War of 1812. Madison's name is commemorated in many landmarks across the nation, with prominent examples including Madison Square Garden, James Madison University, the James Madison Memorial Building, and the USS James Madison.
James Madison Jr. was born on March 16, 1751 (March 5, 1750, Old Style), at Belle Grove Plantation near Port Conway in the Colony of Virginia, to James Madison Sr. and Eleanor Madison. His family had lived in Virginia since the mid-17th century.[9] Madison's maternal grandfather, Francis Conway, was a prominent planter and tobacco merchant.[10] His father was a tobacco planter who grew up on a plantation, then called Mount Pleasant, which he inherited upon reaching adulthood. With an estimated 100 slaves[9] and a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) plantation, Madison's father was among the largest landowners in Virginia's Piedmont.[11]
In the early 1760s, the Madison family moved into a newly built house that they named Montpelier.[12] Madison was the oldest of twelve children,[13] with seven brothers and four sisters, though only six lived to adulthood:[12] brothers Francis, Ambrose, and William, and sisters Nelly, Sarah, and Frances. Ambrose helped to manage Montpelier for his father and older brother until his own death in 1793.[14]
From age 11 to 16, Madison studied under Donald Robertson, a tutor for several prominent Southern families. Madison learned mathematics, geography, and modern and classical languages, becoming exceptionally proficient in Latin.[15][12] At age 16, Madison returned to Montpelier, where he studied under the Reverend Thomas Martin to prepare for college. Unlike most college-bound Virginians of his day, Madison did not attend the College of William and Mary, as the lowland Williamsburg climate—thought to be more likely to harbor infectious disease—might have impacted his health.[16] Instead, in 1769, he enrolled at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University).[17]
His college studies included Latin, Greek, theology, and the works of the Enlightenment,[18] and emphasized speech and debate. Madison was a leading member of the American Whig–Cliosophic Society, which competed on campus with a political counterpart, the Cliosophic Society.[19] During his time at Princeton, Madison's closest friend was future Attorney General William Bradford.[20] Along with classmate Aaron Burr, Madison completed the college's three-year Bachelor of Arts degree in two years, graduating in 1771.[21] Madison had contemplated either entering the clergy or practicing law after graduation but instead remained at Princeton to study Hebrew and political philosophy under the college's president, John Witherspoon.[9] He returned home to Montpelier in early 1772.[22]
Madison's ideas on philosophy and morality were strongly shaped by Witherspoon, who converted him to the philosophy, values, and modes of thinking of the Age of Enlightenment. Biographer Terence Ball wrote that at Princeton, Madison
was immersed in the liberalism of the Enlightenment, and converted to eighteenth-century political radicalism. From then on James Madison's theories would advance the rights of happiness of man, and his most active efforts would serve devotedly the cause of civil and political liberty.[23]
After returning to Montpelier, without a chosen career, Madison tutored his younger siblings.[24] He began to study law books in 1773, asking his friend Bradford, a law apprentice, to send him a plan of study. Madison had acquired an understanding of legal publications by 1783. He saw himself as a law student but not a lawyer. Madison did not apprentice himself to a lawyer and never joined the bar.[25] Following the Revolutionary War, he spent time at Montpelier studying ancient democracies in preparation for the Constitutional Convention.[12][26] Madison suffered from episodes of mental exhaustion and illness with associated nervousness, which often caused short-term incapacity after periods of stress. However, he enjoyed good physical health until his final years.[27]
In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which caused strong opposition by the colonists and began a conflict that would culminate in the American Revolution.[28][29] The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775.[28][30][31] The colonists formed three prominent factions: Loyalists, who continued to back King George III of the United Kingdom; a significant neutral faction without firm commitments to either Loyalists or Patriots; and the Patriots, whom Madison joined, under the leadership of the Continental Congress.[32][33] Madison believed that Parliament had overstepped its bounds by attempting to tax the American colonies, and he sympathized with those who resisted British rule.[34] Historically, debate about the consecration of bishops was ongoing and eventual legislation was passed in the British Parliament (subsequently called the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786) to allow bishops to be consecrated for an American church outside of allegiance to the British Crown.[35] The new Anglican churches began incorporating more active forms of polity in their own self-government, collective decision-making, and self-supported financing; these measures would be consistent with separation of religious and secular identities.[36] Madison believed these measures to be insufficient, and favored disestablishing the Anglican Church in Virginia; Madison believed that tolerance of an established religion was detrimental not only to freedom of religion but also because it encouraged excessive deference to any authority which might be asserted by an established church.[37]
After returning to Montpelier in 1774, Madison took a seat on the local Committee of Safety, a pro-revolution group that oversaw the local Patriot militia.[38] In October 1775, he was commissioned as the colonel of the Orange County militia, serving as his father's second-in-command until he was elected as a delegate to the Fifth Virginia Convention, which was charged with producing Virginia's first constitution.[5] Although Madison never battled in the Revolutionary War, he rose to prominence in Virginia politics as a wartime leader.[39] At the Virginia constitutional convention, he convinced delegates to alter the Virginia Declaration of Rights originally drafted on May 20, 1776, to provide for "equal entitlement", rather than mere "tolerance", in the exercise of religion.[40] With the enactment of the Virginia constitution, Madison became part of the Virginia House of Delegates, and he was subsequently elected to the Virginia governor's Council of State,[41] where he became a close ally of Governor Thomas Jefferson.[42] On July 4, 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence was formally printed.[43][44]
Madison participated in the debates concerning the Articles of Confederation[45] in November 1777, contributing to the discussion of religious freedom affecting the drafting of the Articles, though his signature was not required for adopting the Articles of Confederation. Madison had proposed liberalizing the article on religious freedom, but the larger Virginia Convention stripped the proposed constitution of the more radical language of "free expression" of faith to the less controversial mention of highlighting "tolerance" within religion.[46] Madison again served on the Council of State, from 1777 to 1779, when he was elected to the Second Continental Congress, the governing body of the United States.[lower-alpha 3]
During Madison's term in Congress from 1780 to 1783, the U.S. faced a difficult war against Great Britain, as well as runaway inflation, financial troubles, and a lack of cooperation between the different levels of government. According to historian J. C. A. Stagg, Madison worked to become an expert on financial issues, becoming a legislative workhorse and a master of parliamentary coalition building.[48] Frustrated by the failure of the states to supply needed requisitions, Madison proposed to amend the Articles of Confederation to grant Congress the power to independently raise revenue through tariffs on imports.[49] Though General George Washington, Congressman Alexander Hamilton, and other leaders also favored the tariff amendment, it failed to win the ratification of all thirteen states.[50] While a member of Congress, Madison was an ardent supporter of a close alliance between the United States and France. As an advocate of westward expansion, he insisted that the new nation had to ensure its right to navigation on the Mississippi River and control of all lands east of it in the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War.[51] Following his term in Congress, Madison won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1784.[52]
As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Madison continued to advocate for religious freedom, and, along with Jefferson, drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. That amendment, which guaranteed freedom of religion and disestablished the Church of England, was passed in 1786.[53] Madison also became a land speculator, purchasing land along the Mohawk River in partnership with another Jefferson protégé, James Monroe.[54] Throughout the 1780s, Madison became increasingly worried about the disunity of the states and the weakness of the central government.[55] He believed that direct democracy caused social decay and that a Republican government would be effective against partisanship and factionalism.[56][57][58] He was particularly troubled by laws that legalized paper money and denied diplomatic immunity to ambassadors from other countries.[59] Madison was also concerned about the lack of ability in Congress to capably create foreign policy, protect American trade, and foster the settlement of the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.[60] As Madison wrote, "a crisis had arrived which was to decide whether the American experiment was to be a blessing to the world, or to blast for ever the hopes which the republican cause had inspired."[61] Madison committed to an intense study of law and political theory and also was influenced by Enlightenment texts sent by Jefferson from France.[62] Madison especially sought out works on international law and the constitutions of "ancient and modern confederacies" such as the Dutch Republic, the Swiss Confederation, and the Achaean League.[63] He came to believe that the United States could improve upon past republican experiments by its size which geographically combined 13 colonies; with so many competing interests, Madison hoped to minimize the abuses of majority rule.[64] Additionally, navigation rights to the major trade routes accessed by the Mississippi River highly concerned Madison. He opposed the proposal by John Jay that the United States concede claims to the river for 25 years, and, according to historian Ralph Ketcham, Madison's desire to fight the proposal was a major motivation in his return to Congress in 1787.[65]
Leading up to the 1787 ratification debates for the Constitution,[67] Madison worked with other members of the Virginia delegation, especially Edmund Randolph and George Mason, to create and present the Virginia Plan, an outline for a new federal constitution.[68] It called for three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), a bicameral Congress (consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) apportioned by population, and a federal Council of Revision that would have the right to veto laws passed by Congress.[69] The Virginia Plan did not explicitly lay out the structure of the executive branch, but Madison himself favored a strong single executive.[70] Many delegates were surprised to learn that the plan called for the abrogation of the Articles and the creation of a new constitution, to be ratified by special conventions in each state, rather than by the state legislatures. With the assent of prominent attendees such as Washington and Benjamin Franklin, the delegates agreed in a secret session that the abrogation of the Articles and the creation of a new constitution was a plausible option and began scheduling the process of debating its ratification in the individual states.[71] As a compromise between small and large states, large states got a proportional House, while the small states got equal representation in the Senate.[72]
After the Philadelphia Convention ended in September 1787, Madison convinced his fellow congressmen to remain neutral in the ratification debate and allow each state to vote on the Constitution.[73] Those who supported the Constitution were called Federalists; that included Madison.[74] Opponents of the Constitution, known as Anti-Federalists, began a public campaign against ratification.[74] In response, starting in October 1787,[75] Hamilton and John Jay, both Federalists, began publishing a series of pro-ratification newspaper articles in New York.[76] After Jay dropped out of the project, Hamilton approached Madison, who was in New York on congressional business, to write some of the essays.[77] The essays were published under the pseudonym of Publius.[78][79] The trio produced 85 essays known as The Federalist Papers.[79] The 85 essays were divided into two parts: 36 letters against the Articles of Confederation, and 49 letters that favored the new Constitution.[75] The articles were also published in book form and used by the supporters of the Constitution in the ratifying conventions. Federalist No. 10, Madison's first contribution to The Federalist Papers, became highly regarded in the 20th century for its advocacy of representative democracy.[80] In it, Madison describes the dangers posed by the majority factions and argues that their effects can be limited through the formation of a large republic. He theorizes that in large republics the large number of factions that emerge will control their influence because no single faction can become a majority.[81][82] In Federalist No. 51, he explains how the separation of powers between three branches of the federal government, as well as between state governments and the federal government, establishes a system of checks and balances that ensures that no one institution would become too powerful.[83]
As the Virginia ratification convention began, Madison focused his efforts on winning the support of the relatively small number of undecided delegates.[84] His long correspondence with Randolph paid off at the convention, as Randolph announced that he would support unconditional ratification of the Constitution, with amendments to be proposed after ratification.[85] Though former Virginia governor Patrick Henry gave several persuasive speeches arguing against ratification, Madison's expertise on the subject he had long argued for allowed him to respond with rational arguments to Henry's anti-Federalist appeals.[86] Madison was also a defender of federal veto rights and, according to historian Ron Chernow "pleaded at the Constitutional Convention that the federal government should possess a veto over state laws".[87] In his final speech to the ratifying convention, Madison implored his fellow delegates to ratify the Constitution as it had been written, arguing that failure to do so would lead to the collapse of the entire ratification effort, as each state would seek favorable amendments.[88] On June 25, 1788, the convention voted 89–79 in favor of ratification. The vote came a week after New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, thereby securing the Constitution's adoption and with that, a new form of government.[89] The following January, Washington was elected the nation's first president.[90]
After Virginia ratified the constitution, Madison returned to New York and resumed his duties in the Congress of the Confederation. After Madison was defeated in his bid for the Senate, and with concerns for both his political career and the possibility that Patrick Henry and his allies would arrange for a second constitutional convention, Madison ran for the House of Representatives.[91][92][93] Henry and the Anti-Federalists were in firm control of the General Assembly in the autumn of 1788.[93] At Henry's behest, the Virginia legislature designed to deny Madison a seat by gerrymandering congressional districts. Henry and his supporters ensured that Orange County was in a district heavily populated with Anti-Federalists, roughly three to one, to oppose Madison.[93][94][93] Henry also recruited James Monroe, a strong challenger to Madison.[94] Locked in a difficult race against Monroe, Madison promised to support a series of constitutional amendments to protect individual liberties.[91] In an open letter, Madison wrote that, while he had opposed requiring alterations to the Constitution before ratification, he now believed that "amendments, if pursued with a proper moderation and in a proper mode ... may serve the double purpose of satisfying the minds of well-meaning opponents, and of providing additional guards in favor of liberty."[95] Madison's promise paid off, as in Virginia's 5th district election, he gained a seat in Congress with 57 percent of the vote.[4]
Madison became a key adviser to Washington, who valued Madison's understanding of the Constitution.[91] Madison helped Washington write his first inaugural address and also prepared the official House response to Washington's speech. He played a significant role in establishing and staffing the three Cabinet departments, and his influence helped Thomas Jefferson become the first Secretary of State.[96] At the start of the first Congress, he introduced a tariff bill similar to the one he had advocated for under the Articles of the Confederation,[97] and Congress established a federal tariff on imports by enacting the Tariff of 1789.[98] The following year, Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton introduced an ambitious economic program that called for the federal assumption of state debts and the funding of that debt through the issuance of federal securities. Hamilton's plan favored Northern speculators and was disadvantageous to states, such as Virginia, that had already paid off most of their debt; Madison emerged as one of the principal congressional opponents of the plan.[99] After prolonged legislative deadlock, Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton agreed to the Compromise of 1790, which provided for the enactment of Hamilton's assumption plan, as part of the Funding Act of 1790. In return, Congress passed the Residence Act, which established the federal capital district of Washington, D.C.[100]
During the first Congress, Madison took the lead in advocating for several constitutional amendments to the Bill of Rights.[101] His primary goals were to fulfill his 1789 campaign pledge and to prevent the calling of a second constitutional convention, but he also hoped to safeguard the rights and liberties of the people against broad actions of Congress and individual states. He believed that the enumeration of specific rights would fix those rights in the public mind and encourage judges to protect them.[102][103] After studying more than two hundred amendments that had been proposed at the state ratifying conventions,[104] Madison introduced the Bill of Rights on June 8, 1789. His amendments contained numerous restrictions on the federal government and would protect, among other things, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the right to peaceful assembly.[105] While most of his proposed amendments were drawn from the ratifying conventions, Madison was largely responsible for proposals to guarantee freedom of the press, protect property from government seizure, and ensure jury trials.[104] He also proposed an amendment to prevent states from abridging "equal rights of conscience, or freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases".[106]
To prevent a permanent standing federal army, Madison proposed the Second Amendment, which gave state-regulated militia groups and private citizens, the "right to bear arms." Madison and the Republicans desired a free government to be established by the consent of the governed, rather than by national military force.[107]
Madison's Bill of Rights faced little opposition; he had largely co-opted the Anti-Federalist goal of amending the Constitution but had avoided proposing amendments that would alienate supporters of the Constitution.[108] His amendments were mostly adopted by the House of Representatives as proposed, but the Senate made several changes.[109] Madison's proposal to apply parts of the Bill of Rights to the states was eliminated, as was his change to the Constitution's preamble which he thought would be enhanced by including a prefatory paragraph indicating that governmental power is vested by the people.[110] He was disappointed that the Bill of Rights did not include protections against actions by state governments,[lower-alpha 4] but the passage of the document mollified some critics of the original constitution and shored up his support in Virginia.[104] Ten amendments were finally ratified on December 15, 1791, becoming known in their final form as the Bill of Rights.[112][lower-alpha 5]
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After 1790, the Washington administration became polarized into two main factions. One faction, led by Jefferson and Madison, broadly represented Southern interests and sought close relations with France. This faction became the Democratic-Republican Party opposition to Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton. The other faction, led by Hamilton and the Federalists, broadly represented Northern financial interests and favored close relations with Britain.[114] In 1791, Hamilton introduced a plan that called for the establishment of a national bank to provide loans to emerging industries and oversee the money supply.[115] Madison and the Democratic-Republican Party fought back against Hamilton's attempt to expand the power of the Federal Government with the formation of a national bank; Madison argued that under the Constitution, Congress did not have the power to create a federally empowered national bank.[116] Despite Madison's opposition, Congress passed a bill to create the First Bank of the United States, which Washington signed into law in February 1791.[115] As Hamilton implemented his economic program and Washington continued to enjoy immense prestige as president, Madison became increasingly concerned that Hamilton would seek to abolish the federal republic in favor of a centralized monarchy.[117]
When Hamilton submitted his Report on Manufactures, which called for federal action to stimulate the development of a diversified economy, Madison once again challenged Hamilton's proposal.[118] Along with Jefferson, Madison helped Philip Freneau establish the National Gazette, a Philadelphia newspaper that attacked Hamilton's proposals.[119] In an essay in the newspaper in September 1792, Madison wrote that the country had divided into two factions: his faction, which believed "that mankind are capable of governing themselves", and Hamilton's faction, which allegedly sought the establishment of an aristocratic monarchy and was biased in favor of the wealthy.[120] Those opposed to Hamilton's economic policies, including many former Anti-Federalists, continued to strengthen the ranks of the Democratic–Republican Party,[lower-alpha 6] while those who supported the administration's policies supported Hamilton's Federalist Party.[122] In the 1792 presidential election, both major parties supported Washington for re-election, but the Democratic–Republicans sought to unseat Vice President John Adams. Because the Constitution's rules essentially precluded Jefferson from challenging Adams,[lower-alpha 7] the party backed New York Governor George Clinton for the vice presidency, but Adams won nonetheless.[124]
With Jefferson out of office after 1793, Madison became the de facto leader of the Democratic–Republican Party.[125] When Britain and France went to war in 1793, the U.S. needed to determine which side to support.[126] While the differences between the Democratic–Republicans and the Federalists had previously centered on economic matters, foreign policy became an increasingly important issue, as Madison and Jefferson favored France and Hamilton favored Britain.[127] War with Britain became imminent in 1794 after the British seized hundreds of American ships that were trading with French colonies. Madison believed that a trade war with Britain would probably succeed, and would allow Americans to assert their independence fully. The British West Indies, Madison maintained, could not live without American foodstuffs, but Americans could easily do without British manufacturers.[128] Similarly, Madison argued that British industry was highly dependent on the demand of American consumers and would suffer heavily if this market was denied to the British.[129] Washington secured friendly trade relations with Britain through the Jay Treaty of 1794.[130] Madison and his Democratic–Republican allies were outraged by the treaty; the Democratic–Republican Robert R. Livingston wrote to Madison that the treaty "sacrifices every essential interest and prostrates the honor of our country".[131] Madison's strong opposition to the treaty led to a permanent break with Washington, ending their friendship.[130]
On September 15, 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, the 26-year-old widow of John Todd, a Quaker farmer who died during a yellow fever epidemic.[132] Earlier that year, Madison and Dolley Todd had been formally introduced at Madison's request by Aaron Burr. Burr had become friends with her when staying at the same Philadelphia boardinghouse.[133] The two quickly became romantically engaged and prepared for a wedding that summer, but Todd suffered recurring illnesses because of her exposure to yellow fever in Philadelphia. They eventually traveled to Harewood in Virginia for their wedding. Only a few close family members attended, and Winchester reverend Alexander Balmain presided.[134] Dolley became a renowned figure in Washington, D.C., and excelled at hosting.[12] She subsequently helped to establish the modern image of the first lady of the United States as an individual who has a leading role in the social affairs of the nation.[135]
Throughout his life, Madison maintained a close relationship with his father, James Sr. At age 50, Madison inherited the large plantation of Montpelier and other possessions, including his father's slaves.[136][14] While Madison never had children with Dolley, he adopted her one surviving son, John Payne Todd (known as Payne), after the couple's marriage.[137] Some of his colleagues, such as Monroe and Burr, believed Madison's lack of offspring weighed on his thoughts, though he never spoke of any distress.[138] Oral history has suggested Madison may have fathered a child with his enslaved half-sister, a cook named Coreen, but researchers were unable to gather the DNA evidence needed to determine the validity of the accusation.[139][140]
Washington chose to retire after serving two terms and, in advance of the 1796 presidential election, Madison helped convince Jefferson to run for the presidency.[125] Despite Madison's efforts, Federalist candidate John Adams defeated Jefferson, taking a narrow majority of the electoral vote.[141] Under the rules of the Electoral College then in place, Jefferson became vice president because he finished with the second-most electoral votes.[142] Madison, meanwhile, had declined to seek re-election to the House, and he returned to Montpelier.[137] On Jefferson's advice, Adams considered appointing Madison to an American delegation charged with ending French attacks on American shipping, but Adams's cabinet members strongly opposed the idea.[143]
Though he was out of office, Madison remained a prominent Democratic–Republican leader in opposition to the Adams administration.[144][87] Madison and Jefferson believed that the Federalists were using the Quasi-War with France to justify the violation of constitutional rights by passing the Alien and Sedition Acts, and they increasingly came to view Adams as a monarchist.[145] Both Madison and Jefferson expressed the belief that natural rights were non-negotiable even in war. Madison believed that the Alien and Sedition Acts formed a dangerous precedent, by giving the government the power to look past the natural rights of its people in the name of national security.[146][147] In response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, Jefferson argued that the states had the power to nullify federal law on the basis of the Constitution being a compact among the states. Madison rejected this view of nullification and urged that states respond to unjust federal laws through interposition, a process by which a state legislature declared a law to be unconstitutional but did not take steps to actively prevent its enforcement. Jefferson's doctrine of nullification was widely rejected, and the incident damaged the Democratic–Republican Party as attention was shifted from the Alien and Sedition Acts to the unpopular nullification doctrine.[148]
In 1799, Madison was elected to the Virginia legislature. At the same time, Madison planned for Jefferson's campaign in the 1800 presidential election.[149] Madison issued the Report of 1800, which attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional. That report held that Congress was limited to legislating on its enumerated powers and that punishment for sedition violated freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Jefferson embraced the report, and it became the unofficial Democratic–Republican platform for the 1800 election.