President James Madison (President Mini Episodes)

In this mini-episode of "Check This Out!" hosts Amy Contreras and Cece explore the life and legacy of James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, in honor of President’s Day. The episode begins with an introduction to Madison as a Founding Father, and his contributions to the formation of the United States alongside notable figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Listeners learn about Madison’s early life, including his education at Princeton and his complex relationship with slavery. The hosts provide an overview of his  achievements, such as his role in the Constitutional Convention, and his sponsorship of the Bill of Rights, which earned him the title "Father of the Constitution."

The episode shifts to Madison's presidency from 1808 to 1817. The War of 1812 is highlighted as a key event of his presidency, where Madison led the nation against Great Britain in what is considered America's second war of independence.

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe for more engaging content in future episodes!

Sources for this weeks episode are: 

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-madison 

https://millercenter.org/president/madison/impact-and-legacy 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Madison 

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/james-madison-and-federal-power 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/father-of-the-constitution-is-born 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/brief-overview-war-1812?ms=googlegrant 

Transcript

Cece Welcome to Check this out! Podcast for kids 

Amy And their grownups.  Where we explore interesting people, places, and ponderings that shape the world around us.  

My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today’s episode is another mini-episode on founding father, and 4th president of the United States, James Madison.  While James Madison had an interesting life with many contributions to the United States before, during, and after the revolutionary war we are focusing on his time as president today in honor of the upcoming President’s Day holiday.  

Cece: That makes sense 

Before we talk about James Madison as president of the United States.  Do you remember what a founding father is? Because James Madison is one of the people who we often refer to as Founding Fathers.  Is a founding father

1. Someone who finds missing fathers who get lost? 
2. An inventor
3. a political leader who helped create the United States of America

Cece: If you said C that was a really good answer!  

Nice memory Cece!  Founding Fathers are the group of men who helped create the US like George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.  That isn’t all the founding fathers, but it helps give you an idea! 

I suppose to help you fully understand his presidential legacy, it might be helpful to learn a little more about James Madison and what he did before he became the 4th president of the united states.  

Cece: Let’s recap some of his achievements.  

And facts about his life 

• James Madison was born in 1751 and lived until 1836.  
• He attended the college of new jersey, which is now princeton 
• James Madison was an enslaver, similar to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  He held contradictory views on slavery arguing that slavery was incompatible with Revolutionary principles but he also owned over one hundred slaves on his Virginia plantation
• He was elected to Virginia’s 1776 Revolutionary convention, where he drafted the state’s guarantee of religious freedom
• He helped write the federalist papers (alongside Alexander Hamilton and John Jay), which supported the ratification of the constitution 
• He sponsored the Bill of Rights at the constitutional convention 
• Madison was nicknamed the "Father of the Constitution" for his role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights
• He was secretary of state to Thomas Jefferson when he was president and served on his cabinet 

Cece: He was a busy guy!  

He sure was.  Before his presidency James Madison is probably most remembered for his role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he presented something called the “Virginia Plan” to the delegates.  

Check this out! 

James Madison oversaw the process of negotiation and compromise that led to the final Constitution. This was not an easy job!  He also took extensive notes on the constitutional convention.  James Madison’s notes on the Constitutional Convention are considered the most detailed and accurate description of what happened. Keep in mind, these notes weren’t published until all the participants had died.

Cece: Wow!  

Now that we have a little context about James Madison as a founding father and his time before becoming president lets get into it!  

Cece Here’s a Fun fact

 if our first president, George Washington, towered over people at 6’2, james madison was the opposite.  He was only 5’4. 

He was elected president in 1808 and served 2 terms, retiring from the presidency in 1817.  James Madison was from Virginia and he was a key leader in the Democratic Republican party alongside Thomas Jefferson.   

Cece: I remember him! 

I’m glad, Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd president of the United States, so James Madison came right after him!  

Both before and during his presidency James Madison was a strong supporter of the Separation of Powers within the government. He believed in a strong system of checks and balances in government, which are a key part of the Constitution's design.

Cece: I want to check out more about that 

You should!  During his presidency a few key things happened, with the most notable being the War of 1812.  

Check this out! 

Have you heard about the war of 1812?  The war of 1812 happened in, you guessed it, 1812.  This war is sometimes called America’s 2nd war of independence because it was also against Great Britain.   The War of 1812 was part of a larger, global battle. England and France had been in an almost constant war for global control from 1789-1815. 

The United States had a variety of problems with Britain. Many felt that the British weren’t treating the new United States as a real country. They felt that Britain was treating them unfairly by capturing American sailors, and not allowing them to trade freely.  Britain was also supporting Native American tribes that were fighting against American settlers to create problems in the new nation.

James Madison led the United States during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, which was a significant conflict in U.S. history and the first war the US participated in after the revolutionary war.  Under his leadership the US was able to hold off a British invasion. 

Cece: oh that's important 

Outside of the War of 1812, which dominated his presidency, Madison had some other big actions.  

• As President, Madison occupied West Florida in 1810 as part of the Louisiana Purchase that had happened under Thomas Jefferson.  Spain had refused to give up control of that part of Florida after the Louisiana Purchase so he officially claimed it for the US.   
• Madison also supported Jefferson’s decision to fight a naval war against the Barbary Pirates.
• Louisiana and Indiana became states during Madison’s presidency 
• On March 31, 1814 Napoleon's European empire collapsed
• There were a number of battles with various indigenous tribes over the course of his presidency 

Cece: He was a busy guy 

He retired to his home in Virginia after serving as president for 2 terms. 

Amy We could keep telling you about James Madison, the “father of the constitution” and his accomplishments, but we promised you a mini episode so with that we say

Cece Thanks for listening

Make sure to subscribe 

See you next episode 

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-madison 

https://millercenter.org/president/madison/impact-and-legacy 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Madison 

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/james-madison-and-federal-power 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/father-of-the-constitution-is-born 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/brief-overview-war-1812?ms=googlegrant