James Madison, better known for his title as Father of the Constitution, was born on March 16, 1751 on a small plantation in Virginia. In his early life James Madison suffered from psychosomatic, or stress-induced, seizures that accompanied Indian attacks during the French and Indian War. Everything 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 Montpelier plantation, with seven younger brothers he was very studious and hardworking, earning himself the chance to study Princeton which was then called The College of New Jersey. James Madison received lessons in Greek and Latin when he completed college. Then he returned to study Hebrew and philosophy for another term. In 1772 he then returned to his home in Montpelier and studied law, something for which he had no passion; later, in 1774, he took a seat 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 one Thomas Jefferson which began when Madison became involved in the independence debate in 1776. The debates led to him becoming a delegate of the revolutionary group, the Virginia Convention. While a delegate he worked to protect clerics after seeing Protestant preachers prosecuted by the Anglican Church for preaching without a licence. Madison first worked with Thomas Jefferson to draft Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom which abolished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all faiths. Madison ran for the new state assembly and lost in the regular election to a man who had been promising since... middle of paper ......ouse Historical Association., n.d. 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: J.B. 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, nd Web. November 21. 2013. .