((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, from VOASpecial English.
VOICE ONE:
This week, we tell about James Madison, the fourth president ofthe United States. And we take you to his home, called Montpelier.
((THEME))
VOICE TWO:
James Madison is known as the “Father of the United StatesConstitution.” Madison wrote the first plan for unifying the newnation. He also was the one mainly responsible for the first tenamendments to the Constitution, called the Bill of Rights.
His home, Montpelier[mont-PEEL-yer], is about one-hundred-thirty kilometers south ofWashington, D.C. It covers more than one-thousand-one-hundredhectares of some of America’s most beautiful land.
Montpelier is in the middle of farm country in Virginia. It is ashort drive from the Blue Ridge Mountains. It also is only aboutforty-five kilometers from Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson,America’s third president.
VOICE ONE:
In October of this year, the Montpelier Foundation, anindependent group, announced plans to restore the home of JamesMadison. The American businessman Paul Mellon left twenty-milliondollars for the project in his will. Paul Mellon died innineteen-ninety-nine, at the age of ninety-one.
The foundation says the gift is probably the largest ever made bya single provider to a historic property. A government programcalled Save America’s Treasures will supply one-million dollars. Andthe Montpelier Foundation will raise additional money.
The project is to repair and beautify the home inside and out.The restoration project will make the home more like it looked inthe eighteen-twenties. The new look will include the removal ofareas built in the nineteen-hundreds. The restored home will havetwenty-two rooms instead of fifty-five.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia, on Marchsixteenth, seventeen-fifty-one. He grew up in Orange County, at theMadison family home at Montpelier. James Madison’s grandfather,Ambrose Madison, first settled the land in seventeen-twenty-three.
James spent the first nine years of his life in a house built byhis grandfather. His father built the main house at Montpelier inabout seventeen-sixty. The family moved there a short time later.
James Madison was the oldest of twelve children. He was educatedat home and at schools in Virginia until he was eighteen years old.Then he attended the College of New Jersey, now called PrincetonUniversity. He completed his college education in just two years. Hestayed in New Jersey one more year for independent studies.
James Madison returned to Montpelier in seventeen-seventy-two. Hewas not sure what he would do for his future. He thought aboutbecoming a lawyer, a clergyman or a businessman. But he decidedagainst all those jobs.
VOICE ONE:
As Madison thought about his future, Britain and its Americancolonies were becoming increasingly angry with each other. Thisperiod, the early seventeen-seventies, was about the time JamesMadison began his political activism. He served in local government.Then he was elected to Virginia’s first House of Delegates. There hehelped to write a new state constitution.
Madison represented Virginia at the Second Continental Congressduring the American War of Independence. After the war, he attendedthe Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, inseventeen-eighty-seven.
Madison thought the United States should have a strong centralgovernment. He led efforts in Virginia and other states to approvethe proposal. He helped write The Federalist, a series of reportsthat explained the proposed Constitution.
VOICE TWO:
The Constitution was approved. Madison continued as a leadingmember of the new federal government. He was elected to the firstCongress. He led the fight to approve the first ten amendments tothe Constitution – the Bill of Rights.
A few years later, he and Thomas Jefferson formed a politicalparty. It is known today as the Democratic Party.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
While in Congress, James Madison met a young woman, Dolley PayneTodd. Her husband had died of yellow fever the year before. Madisonproposed marriage a short time after they met. They were married onSeptember fifteenth, seventeen-ninety-four.
James Madison was a small, quiet man. But Dolley Madison wasknown for her friendliness and for organizing large parties. Theywere married forty-one years, until he died. They had no children.But they raised Dolley’s son by her first husband.
James Madison left Congress in seventeen-ninety-seven. He andDolley retired to Montpelier. But the retirement did not last long.Thomas Jefferson became president in eighteen-oh-one. Jeffersonappointed his friend James Madison as secretary of state. Madisonserved as America’s top diplomat for eight years.
VOICE TWO:
The Jefferson presidency was a period of growth for the newnation. In eighteen-oh-three, the United States agreed to pay Franceabout fifteen-million dollars for a huge piece of land. Thisagreement was called the Louisiana Purchase. It increased the areaof the United States by one-hundred percent.
There were, however, some problems. Secretary of State Madisoncould not get France and Great Britain to honor the rights ofAmericans on the high seas. James Madison became president ineighteen-oh-nine. Trade relations with the French and British becamehis government’s biggest problem.
President Madison served two terms, eight years in all. He ledthe United States through the War of Eighteen-twelve. British troopsinvaded the country and burned Washington. The United States won thewar in eighteen-fifteen.
VOICE ONE:
His second term ended in eighteen-seventeen. James and DolleyMadison returned home to Montpelier. The former president remainedactive and interested in politics. He had many slaves at Montpelier.Now, he founded a group that sought to free the slaves in the UnitedStates and return them to Africa. He also took part in Virginia’sconstitutional convention in eighteen-twenty-nine.
James Madison died at Montpelier on June twenty-eighth,eighteen-thirty-six. He was eighty-five years old. Dolley Madisondied thirteen years later. They are buried on the property.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
In seventeen-sixty, the main building at Montpelier, in Virginia,started with eight rooms. It had four rooms on the first floor andfour on the second.
James Madison made two major additions to the building his fatherbuilt. He also made structural changes. He built private areas forfamily use. He combined existing rooms to create larger, publicspaces for dinners and parties.
VOICE ONE:
Dolley Madison sold Montpelier to a friend ineighteen-forty-four, eight years after her husband died. Theproperty had five other owners before William and Annie duPontbought the land in nineteen-oh-one.
The duPonts enlarged the main building to its present size. Theirdaughter, Marion duPont Scott, added two large tracks for horseracing. The home remained in the duPont family untilnineteen-eighty-three. Then it was given to the National Trust forHistoric Preservation.
Montpelier opened to the public in nineteen-eighty-seven. TheMontpelier Foundation accepted responsibility for the property.
VOICE TWO:
Today, James Madison’s Montpelier faces changes. But noteverything will change. There will still be many buildings, a largeflower garden and farmland. Some trees on the grounds were alivewhen Madison was alive. The James Madison Landmark Forest includeswooded land near the back of the property. It is recognized as thebest example of an old-growth forest in central Virginia.
With its new restoration, Montpelier should stand for many yearsto come – an honor to James Madison and the country he loved.
We leave you now with music recorded at Montpelier a few yearsago. One of the instruments, the crystal flute, belonged toPresident Madison.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and George Grow. It wasproduced by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States, on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.