James Madison Personality

When compared to his historical peers, James Madison was boring. George Washington was the face of America, the glorious leader of the revolution. Thomas Jefferson was cool, composed, and greatly respected across the colonies. Alexander Hamilton was a brash, abrasive veteran, fearless in any situation. Madison, on the other hand, was the shadow behind Washington and Jefferson, supporting them while they stood in the limelight. Madison was never the one to deliver great speeches, even if composed some of them for Washington, and while President he was never thought of as a great leader. Even though he was never as impressive as his peers, James Madison played a bigger role than all of them in making the Constitution a reality; not only in the …show more content…
Madison suffered from frequent bouts of illness, confining him to Montpelier for most his early life. Already short, these lapses only served to weaken his public image in adulthood. As a child, he was unable to attend boarding school like the only sons of Virginian elite. Instead he was tutored by Reverent Thomas Martin, who greatly impacted Madison’s life. It was under his direction that Madison could succeed at such an early age, and it was Martins influence that sent Madison to the College of New Jersey instead of William and Mary’s . Following his graduation, Madison succumbed to a particularly nasty bout of illness and was forced to stay home for around four years. This sounds like an unfortunate event, but this only furthered his political career. Or, at least, his preparation for it. Madison, left with no chance at occupation and confined to bed, was left with books to occupy his time. These pieces were primarily about his interests, law, and politics. When he finally recovered, he was well read in many aspects of democracy, law, and …show more content…
This position was less due to his charisma as a leader, and more because his father was the most influential man in the county and his uncle was already a delegate for another area . There, his studious upbringing was prominent and he was dubbed painfully shy. Through this position, he was appointed as a delegate to the constitutional convention for the state of Virginia. This constitution created a declaration of independence for Virginia as well as a bill of rights. Madison himself contributed very little. He was still a junior politician and nervous, and, although he did suggest a few amendments, he had little impact on the creation . It could be argued that he gained valuable political experience that would benefit himself later in his career, which in itself would make the convention a worthwhile experience. Madison ran for reelection and lost, primarily because he refused to purchase whisky for voters in while his opponent bought out whole taverns . Madison’s political career might have ended right there, if it wasn’t for the intervention of the governor at the time Patrick Henry. Governor Henry, looking for a new councilor for his board of advisors, advocated for Madison and, thanks to this endorsement, Madison was