The fourth President of the United States. He is known as the "Father of the Constitution" because of his influence of deliberations of the Constitutional Convention. His notes on the convention, first published in 1840, are the major source of information on the intentions of the framers of the US Constitution. The most scholarly of the founders for the nation, Madison was respected for the soundness and clarity of his arguments rather than the eloquence.

Although Madison lacked a dynamic personality, "his luminous and discriminating mind," as Thomas Jefferson described it, was largely responsible for creating a government that met the needs of his own day and the test of time . Madison's Presidency was undistinguished in comparison to his contributions to the founding of the nation.