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“The Constitution of the United States was created by the people of the United States composing the respective states who alone had the right.”

Madison, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, penned The Federalist Papers. There was no Amazon.com in those days; there was no way for people to easily hear about this brand new government that had been created in Philadelphia in the summer months of 1787.

Each state was ordered to hold its own special convention to determine if they would want to ratify the Constitution. None other than James Madison stepped up to become one of the leading lights in the ratification process.

The Federalist Papers were written under the pseudonym Publius. In newspapers of the day, there started appearing articles defending the proposed plan to ratify a new U.S. Constitution.

Alexander Hamilton wrote the most articles, followed by Madison, and John Jay. Madison believed with his whole being that the one way, the only way, to preserve the new nation that had been forged in the blood and sweat of soldiers during the Revolutionary War was to ratify a new constitution.

The Founders knew the abuses of power that were raging in Europe with absolute monarchies ruling over their people, and they did not want that for the new country. Many Americans had helped to break away from the most powerful nation on the face of the earth at the time, the British Empire.

Fortunately, there were men and women in early America who recognized this was a moment in time like no other. This was their moment to shine, but they didn't want to do it for themselves. There was a new nation to create, and the Founders recognized now was the time to put some new ideas into action.

Government was to be a reflection of the nature of people. That was a brand new concept in the 1700s, something that had never been tried before, and many were afraid that it wouldn't work at the time. There needed to be new documents in place, in order for this “idea” to be born.

One by one, the states began ratifying the Constitution. At last, on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, thus making it possible for the United States to adopt its new Constitution. The following year in 1789, the first Congress of the United States was called in New York City. George Washington was elected first president of the US in April of 1789.

There was one little thing yet to be settled: a Bill of Rights. Again, James Madison would help to lead the way .

In the last days of the Constitutional Convention, several members including Madison were discussing the addition of what would become known as a Bill of Rights. In fact, Thomas Jefferson, who was currently serving as ambassador to France during this time, had written to James Madison proposing such a document.

What had happened was that during the ratification processes in each state, some people were not at all happy with the fact that there was no listing of individual rights or a “bill of rights” as they would come to be known. Madison believed the Constitution as written did a good job of limiting government's intrusion into states and individual rights. Madison thought that if a list of individual rights were proposed that citizens may think those were the only rights that were covered under the Constitution. Yet, he was not afraid of looking and listening to what others were saying.

Believe it or not, hundreds of amendments were proposed. Madison read every one, and whittled the list down to 19 proposals. Then, he gave these to a Congressional Committee which reduced them further to 12 amendments. Madison wanted these amendments to be worked into the Constitution itself, which of course isn't what happened.

Ten of the 12 amendments were eventually ratified and became the Bill of Rights. In case you missed seeing it anywhere, here are the 10 amendments to the Bill of Rights:

It really seemed like a miracle, according to George Washington, that so many different people could come together for one purpose: that of writing a new constitution, one which would in its final form contain a Bill of Rights. This was a crucial document that finally convinced some of the Constitutional delegates to ratify the Constitution, once and for all.

From the very beginnings of the United States, its founders were concerned first of all with the rights of its citizens. These people were at the top of the heap, so to speak, when talking about writing a constitution which would be worthy of a new country. The Bill of Rights went into effect in December of 1791 .

By including a Bill of Rights into the US Constitution, the Founders were assuring the American people that the government would protect their rights. There are limits to the rights of the state, and they cannot supersede or go beyond those rights. Of course, over the centuries, with each new Supreme Court decision, there is room for much debate on this subject.

James Madison was a staunch supporter of a United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, despite his initial dismissal of the need for the latter. Without Madison, this country may never have evolved into the great nation that it eventually became.