James Madison

On April 18, 1783, Congress settled on a three-fifths ratio for counting enslaved persons after rejecting one-half and three-fourths proposals.

On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress endorsed holding a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Delegates began arriving in Philadelphia in May 1787; Washington arrived May 9, and the convention formally began on May 25.

Among its first acts, the convention unanimously elected George Washington of Virginia as its presiding president.

The Independent Journal released the first Federalist essay on October 27, 1787, becoming the first newspaper to publish the series.

Over the following month, seven more essays appeared in The Independent Journal and two other New York newspapers.

After a postponed opening on May 14 for lack of a quorum, the convention assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, sitting until September 17.

On September 17, 1787, delegates voted on the constitution, Jacob Shallus inscribed it on parchment, and 39 of 55 delegates signed the document.

Within three days of the September 17, 1787 signing, the Constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation, then sitting in New York City.

The U.S. Congress first met in 1789, replacing the Congress of the Confederation. The specific 1790 Philadelphia session is not supported by the supplied passages.

Congress approved twelve articles of amendment on September 25, 1789, after House and Senate revisions, and submitted them to the state legislatures on October 2, 1789.

Eleven states ratified various articles between November 1789 and November 1791, with Vermont ratifying all twelve articles on November 3, 1791.

Virginia's ratification of Articles Two through Twelve on December 15, 1791, completed ratification by three-fourths of the fourteen states, making them Amendments One through Ten.

President Washington informed Congress, meeting at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, of the completed ratification on January 18, 1792.

James Madison crafted corrective amendments addressing Anti-Federalist objections; after a procedural battle, the House considered them from July 21, 1789.

The Senate condensed seventeen amendments to twelve, eliminating Madison's proposal to apply parts of the amendments to the states, approving them September 9, 1789.

A House–Senate conference finalized twelve amendments on September 24, 1789; Congress approved the final version by joint resolution on September 25, 1789.

The twelve approved articles of amendment were officially submitted to the legislatures of the several states for consideration on October 2, 1789.

After initially forwarding the amendments to a select committee, the House agreed on 21 July 1789 to take up Madison's proposal as a full body.

The eleven-member select committee significantly changed Madison's nine amendments, and the House debated the revised proposals for eleven days.

On 24 August 1789 the House approved seventeen amendments, revised and condensed from twenty, and forwarded them to the Senate.

President Washington delivered the first regular annual message to Congress in New York City.

Hamilton presented his financial plan to Congress, recommending debt reorganization.

The Supreme Court held its first meeting in New York City.

Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison reached a political agreement on debt and capital location.

The Senate approved the Residence Act on July 1, 1790, by a vote of 14 to 12, following earlier failed reconciliations.

The House of Representatives approved the act on July 9, 1790, by a vote of 31 to 29, correcting legacy errors.

President Washington signed the Residence Act into law on July 16, 1790, establishing a permanent seat along the Potomac River and designating Philadelphia as the temporary capital.

The Assumption Bill cleared the House on July 26, 1790, allowing the federal government to assume state debts.

William Branch Giles introduced three sets of resolutions in 1793 attempting to censure Hamilton's financial administration and force repayment of debts to France.

In summer 1795 Philadelphia town hall meetings turned to disorder, with rocks thrown, British officials harassed, and a treaty copy burnt.

Madison argued the commercial treaty could not take effect without House approval; Ellsworth's advisory opinion rejected any House right to judge the treaty's merits.

After Ames's speech, the April 29, 1796 vote tied 49–49; Muhlenberg's surprise support produced a 51–48 result funding the treaty.

John Adams signed an act on April 24, 1800, appropriating $5,000 to purchase books and fit up a suitable apartment.

Books ordered from London formed a collection of 740 books and three maps, housed in the Capitol when Congress arrived in November 1800.

On January 26, 1802, Jefferson signed a bill creating the librarian of Congress appointment and a Joint Committee on the Library.

On February 24, 1803, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous 4-0 decision against Marbury, establishing judicial review.

The Embargo Act of 1807 halted overseas trade, preventing the Survey from beginning its work immediately after its creation.

Congress created the Survey of the Coast on February 10, 1807, as the first U.S. scientific agency to chart waters for navigation.

President Madison sent Hassler to Europe in 1811 to purchase survey instruments, but the War of 1812 delayed his return.

Actual surveying work began in 1816 near New York City, marking the first operational phase of the agency.

Bradley convened the 1808 caucus, where Madison secured the Democratic-Republican nomination over Monroe and Clinton, despite internal opposition to the caucus system.

The Federalist caucus met in September 1808 to re-nominate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Rufus King, hoping to capitalize on economic dissatisfaction.

Presidential elections were held from November 4 to December 7, 1808, with Madison defeating Pinckney decisively outside Federalist strongholds.

President Thomas Jefferson signed the repeal of the Embargo Act shortly before leaving office in March 1809, ending the general trade embargo.

Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act on March 1, 1809, replacing the Embargo Act with restrictions limited to British and French ports.

James Madison was sworn in as the fourth President on March 4, 1809, in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Mary Kies received a patent for weaving straw with silk and thread to make hats, signed by President James Madison.

James Madison proclaimed the United States should take possession of West Florida, claiming it as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Congress passed a resolution in January 1811 for temporary occupation, declaring the territory subject to future negotiation.

The territory was formally added to Louisiana in August 1812 following an act of Congress.

After the June 1812 war declaration, Clinton sought to unite anti-war Democratic-Republicans and Federalists against Madison.

Madison defeated Clinton with 50.4 percent of the popular vote to 47.6 percent, the closest popular-vote result to that point.

In May 1812, the congressional caucus re-nominated Madison while the New York caucus nominated Clinton, splitting the party.

The United States declared war on Britain in June 1812, and the presidential election took place during the war's early stages.

A legacy record dates a 90-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom to 4 April 1812; supplied passages confirm only an embargo that failed to end British seizures.

On 1 June 1812, Madison sent Congress a message recounting American grievances against Great Britain.

On 18 June 1812, the United States declared war on Britain after majorities in both chambers voted along party lines.

James Madison was sworn in for a second term as President on March 4, 1813, in Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812.

British and American negotiating teams signed and affixed their seals to the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814.

British forces under Pakenham attacked Jackson's defenses in Chalmette, resulting in a decisive American victory.

HMS Endymion captured USS President off Long Island, a significant naval action at the war's end.

The US Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent, formally ending the war, with exchanges in Washington.

President James Madison signed Georgetown University's congressional charter into law on March 1, 1815, establishing the first federal university charter.

President James Madison signed the charter for the Second Bank of the United States into law on April 10, 1816.

Congress passed an enabling act in 1816 to begin establishing statehood for Indiana, defining the geographic area for the new state.

Delegates assembled at Corydon on June 10, 1816, to write a state constitution, completing the work in 19 days.

Jonathan Jennings was elected as the first governor of the fledgling state in August 1816.

President James Madison approved Indiana's admission into the Union as the nineteenth state on December 11, 1816.

Madison vetoed the Bonus Bill on his last day in office, citing lack of constitutional authority for internal improvements funding.

Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, and Marshall met at Rockfish Gap in 1817 to discuss the university's location and charter.

The Virginia General Assembly chartered the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on January 25, 1819.

Thomas Jefferson died at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams died at Peacefield in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1826, unaware that Jefferson had already died.