Editing James Madison (section)

==Early life and education==

James Madison was born on March 16, 1751 (March 5, 1750, [[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style]]<!--Madison's year of birth is 1751 New Style but 1750 Old Style. This is because Old Style New Year's Day was March 25. Since Madison was born earlier in the year than March 25, it's necessary to subtract one from the year when converting his date of birth from New Style to Old Style-->), at the [[Belle Grove (Port Conway, Virginia)|Belle Grove]] plantation near [[Port Conway, Virginia|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.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=57}} Madison's maternal grandfather, Francis Conway, was a prominent planter and [[tobacco]] merchant.{{sfn|Ketcham|1990|p=5}} His father was a tobacco planter who grew up on a [[Plantations in the American South|plantation]], then called [[Montpelier (James Madison)|Mount Pleasant]], which he inherited upon reaching adulthood. With an estimated 100 [[slavery in the United States|slaves]]{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=57}} and a {{convert|5000|acre|adj=on}} plantation, Madison's father was among the largest landowners in Virginia's [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]].{{sfn|Montpellier Foundation}}

In the early 1760s, the Madison family moved into a newly built house that they named Montpelier.{{sfn|Montpellier, Life of James Madison}} Madison was the oldest of twelve children,{{sfn|Ketcham|1990|p=12}} with seven brothers and four sisters, though only six lived to adulthood:{{sfn|Montpellier, Life of James Madison}} brothers Francis, Ambrose, and [[William Madison|William]], and sisters Nelly, Sarah, and Frances. Ambrose helped to manage Montpelier for his father and older brother until he died in 1793.{{sfn|Ketcham|2003|pp=370–371}}

[[File:MadisonBirthplacePortConwayVA.jpg|left|alt=Madison's birthplace. It is on the west side of US 301 in front of Emmanuel Episcopal Church and is just north of the Rappahannock River bridge. Belle Grove plantation house, the actual birthplace, was located 400 yards east and is no longer in existence|thumb|Virginia historic marker for Birthplace of President James Madison in Port Conway, Virginia]]
{{James Madison series}}
From ages 11 to 16, Madison studied under Donald Robertson, a tutor for several prominent [[Southern United States|Southern]] families. Madison learned mathematics, geography, and modern and classical languages, becoming exceptionally proficient in [[Classical Latin|Latin]].{{sfn|Boyd, 2013}}{{sfn|Montpellier, Life of James Madison}} At age 16, Madison returned to Montpelier, where he studied under the Reverend Thomas Martin to prepare for college. Unlike most college-bound [[Virginia|Virginians]] of his day, Madison did not attend the [[College of William and Mary]], as the lowland [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] climate—thought to be more likely to harbor infectious disease—might have impacted his health.{{sfn|Gutzman|2012|p=2}} Instead, in 1769, he enrolled at the College of New Jersey (later [[Princeton University]]).{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=3–7}}

[[File:1811, Sharples, James, James Madison.jpg|thumb|Madison as a student at Princeton, portrait by [[James Sharples (portrait painter)|James Sharples]]|alt=Madison as a young man at Princeton]]
His college studies included Latin, Greek, theology, and the works of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]],{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=5–6}} 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.{{sfn|Ketcham|2003|p=35}} During his time at Princeton, Madison's closest friend was future Attorney General [[William Bradford (Attorney General)|William Bradford]].{{sfn|Ketcham|2003|p=34}} Along with classmate [[Aaron Burr]], Madison completed the college's three-year [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in two years, graduating in 1771.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=4–5}} He had contemplated either entering the clergy or practicing law after graduation, but instead, he remained at Princeton to study Hebrew and [[political philosophy]] under the college's president, [[John Witherspoon]].{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=57}} He returned home to Montpelier in early 1772.{{sfn|Ketcham|1990|page=51}}

Madison's ideas on philosophy and morality were profoundly 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 {{blockquote|"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."{{sfn|Ball|2017|pp=45–46}}}}

After returning to Montpelier, without a chosen career, Madison tutored his younger siblings.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=7–8}} He began to [[Reading law|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 as a lawyer. Madison did not apprentice himself to a lawyer and never joined the [[Bar (law)|bar]].{{sfn|Bilder|2010|pp=390–391}} Following the Revolutionary War, he spent time at Montpelier studying ancient democracies in preparation for the Constitutional Convention.{{sfn|Montpellier, Life of James Madison}}{{sfn|McCullough|2006|p=21}} Madison suffered from episodes of mental exhaustion and illness with associated nervousness, which often caused short-term incapacity after periods of stress. The descriptions of Madison's sudden attacks are consistent with today's understanding of [[epilepsy]].<ref>Cheney, Lynne.  ''James Madison: A Life Reconsidered,'' p. 4, Viking, New York, New York, 2014.  {{ISBN|978-0-670-02519-0}}.</ref>  He enjoyed good physical health until his final years.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=58}}