Early Life And Education
“In height he was about 5 ft. 6 in., of a small & delicate form; ... few men possessed so rich a flow of languages, [or] so great a fund of amusing anecdotes, wh[ich] were made the more interesting from their being well timed & well told. His ordinary manner was simple, modest, bland & unostentatious, retiring from the throng & cautiously refraining from doing or saying anything to make himself conspicuous. This made him appear a little reserve[d] & formal ... Under all circumstances he was collected & ever mindful of what was due from him to others, & cautious not to wound the feelings of any one.”(Edward Coles) . This quote was a summary about James Madison (1809-1817) by Dolley Madison's cousin. He was a very frail, "nerdy", short man (5 ft 6). He was affected with fevers, liver upsets, and occasional seizures, which led to epilepsy. He went to a boarding school in Queens County for five years. James Madison knew French, Spanish, Latin, Greek, and Italian when he returned. He learned Latin and Greek to understand the thoughts of past civilizations and governments. Then, after two years, he went to the College of New Jersey in Princeton, NJ, or later called Princeton University. He graduated, then under Reverend John Witherspoon, studied Hebrew.
Entrance To Politics
The first time he became part of a government was at a general convention in Williamsburg, Virginia to establish a new state government after the American Revolution. Another time was April 1777, when he ran for Virginia House of Delegates. He lost because the other delegates gave promises of free drinks and got disgusted with the practice of giving alcoholic beverages. He was eventually invited to serve into the House of Delegates.