James Madison stood five foot four, weighed barely a hundred pounds, suffered from nervous exhaustion, and never fought in a single battle. Yet this physically unimposing man designed the Constitution, co-wrote the Federalist Papers, drafted the Bill of Rights, and engineered the political compromises that held the new nation together. The Father of the Constitution accomplished more through intellect and preparation than most founders accomplished through force.

This episode traces Madison from his bookish Virginia childhood through the Constitutional Convention, the ratification fight, his partnership and rivalry with Hamilton, and a presidency overshadowed by the War of 1812.

• Madison’s frail constitution and the scholarly temperament that made him America’s greatest political architect
• The Virginia Plan, the Constitutional Convention, and the compromises that created the federal system
• The Federalist Papers, the Bill of Rights, and the battle to get the Constitution ratified
• The War of 1812, the burning of Washington, and why Madison’s presidency is underrated