James Madison, better known as the Father of the Constitution, was born on March 16, 1751 on a small plantation in Virginia. Early in his life, James Madison suffered very seriously from psychosomatic, or stress-induced, seizures that accompanied the attack of the Indians during the French and Indian War. All that has changed. James Madison Sr. acquired a good sum of money by marrying the daughter of a wealthy tobacco merchant, Nelly Conway. They moved to the large plantation in Montpellier, with seven younger siblings. He was very studious and hardworking, which earned him the chance to study at Princeton, which was then called The College of New Jersey. James Madison had taken courses in Greek and Latin by the time he finished college. He then returned to study Hebrew and philosophy for another semester. In 1772, he then returned home to Montpellier and studied law, which did not fascinate him; later, in 1774, he served on the Committee of Safety, a pro-revolutionary patriot group that oversaw the local militia. Throughout Madison's life, he always had the good friendship of a Thomas Jefferson which began when Madison was caught up in the independence debate in 1776. The debates led him to become a delegate of the revolutionary group , the Virginia Convention. While a delegate, he worked to secure clergy after seeing Protestant preachers prosecuted by the Anglican Church for preaching without a license. Madison first worked with Thomas Jefferson to draft the Virginia Statute for Religious Liberty which abolished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed religious freedom to people of all faiths. Madison ran for the new state assembly and lost in the regular election to a man who had promised middle of paper...... House Historical Association., nd Web. November 21, 2013. .Labunski, Richard E. James Madison and the Fight for the Bill of Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Madison, James. Letters and other writings of James Madison, fourth president of the United States. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott, 1867. Print. Rutland, Robert Allen. James Madison: the founding father. New York: Macmillan, 1987. Print. Sheehan, Colleen. “James Madison: Father of the Constitution.” The Heritage Foundation. Np, April 8, 2013. Web. November 21, 2013. .Stagg, JCA “Miller Center”. American President: James Madison: Life Before the Presidency. Np, and Web. November 21. 2013. .