Editing James Madison (section)

==American Revolution and Articles of Confederation==
{{main|American Revolution|Articles of Confederation}}
In 1765, the [[Parliament of Great Britain|British Parliament]] passed the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]], which caused strong opposition by the colonists and initiated a conflict that would culminate in the [[American Revolution]].{{sfn|Isaacson|2004}}{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pages=96–100}} The [[American Revolutionary War]] broke out on April 19, 1775.{{sfn|Isaacson|2004}}{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pages=132-135}}{{sfn|Paterson|Clifford|Maddock|2014|page=20}} The colonists formed three prominent factions: [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]], who continued to support King [[George III]]; a significant neutral faction without firm commitments to either Loyalists or Patriots; and the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriots]], whom Madison joined, under the leadership of the [[Continental Congress]].{{sfn|Jillson|Wilson|1994|page=4}}{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pages=135–139, 123–127}} Madison believed that Parliament had overstepped its bounds by attempting to tax the American colonies, and he sympathized with those who resisted British rule.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=17–18}} 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.{{sfn|Edwards|1984|p=43}} 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 the separation of religious and secular identities.{{sfn|Edwards|1984|p=322}} Madison believed these measures to be insufficient, and favored [[disestablishment|disestablishing]] the [[Anglican Church]] in Virginia; he thought that tolerance of an established religion was detrimental not only to [[freedom of religion]] but also because it encouraged excessive deference to any authority that might be asserted by an established church.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=10–14}}

[[File:James Madison, by Charles Willson Peale, 1783.png|thumb|left|upright|Madison's portrait as congressional delegate at age 32 when he was already recognized as a contributor to politics and government. Portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]] 1783.|alt=Madison portrait as a young man.]]

After returning to Montpelier in 1774, Madison took a seat on the local [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]], a pro-revolution group that oversaw the local Patriot militia.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|p=22}} In October 1775, he was commissioned as the colonel of the [[Orange County, Virginia|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 tasked with producing Virginia's first [[constitution]].{{sfn|Wills|2002|pages=12–13}} Although Madison never fought in the Revolutionary War, he rose to prominence in Virginia politics as a wartime leader.{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|pages=14–15}} 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.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=25–27}} 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,{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|pages=48–49, 59–60}} where he became a close ally of Governor [[Thomas Jefferson]].{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|pages=65–66}} On July 4, 1776, the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] was formally printed.{{sfn|Library of Congress|pp=506–507}}{{sfn|Coelho|2013|p=61}}

Madison participated in the debates concerning the [[Articles of Confederation]]{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=337–339}} in November 1777, contributing to the discussion of religious freedom that affected 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.{{sfn|Mason|1970|pp=274–289}} 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.{{efn|After the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in 1781, the Second Continental Congress became the [[Congress of the Confederation]].{{sfn|Ferling|2003|pages=230–232}} }}

During Madison's term in Congress from 1780 to 1783, the U.S. faced a difficult war against Great Britain, along with 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, emerging as a legislative workhorse and a master of parliamentary coalition building.{{sfn|Stagg, 2019}} 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 in United States history|tariffs]] on imports.{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|pages=96–97}}  Although General [[George Washington]], Congressman [[Alexander Hamilton]], and other leaders also favored the tariff amendment, it failed to win the ratification of all thirteen states.{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|pages=96–98}} 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 must ensure its right to navigation on the [[Mississippi River]] and control of all lands east of it in the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], which ended the Revolutionary War.{{Sfn|Ketcham|2003|pp=120–123}} Following his term in Congress, Madison won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1784.{{sfn|Burstein|Isenberg|2010|page=xxiv}}