歷屆美國(guó)總統(tǒng)介紹:第4任總統(tǒng) 詹姆斯·麥迪遜

James Madison was the fourth President of the United States. He was born in 1751 in Virginia, the oldest of twelve children. He studied history and government at Princeton (then called the College ofNew Jersey). He was well read in law, which he studied because he thought it was interesting, not because he wanted to become a lawyer. He is knownas the "Father of the Constitution".

詹姆斯·麥迪遜于1751年出生在美國(guó)的弗吉尼亞州，是美國(guó)的第四任總統(tǒng)。他家里有12個(gè)兄弟姐妹，他是家中的長(zhǎng)子。他曾在普林斯頓大學(xué)(當(dāng)時(shí)名為“新澤西學(xué)院”)學(xué)習(xí)歷史和政治。他通曉法律，但他學(xué)習(xí)法律是因?yàn)樗X(jué)得法律很有意思，而不是因?yàn)樗氤蔀橐幻蓭?。他被稱(chēng)為美國(guó)的“憲法之父”。

Madison started out in politics at an early age. He served in the Virginia state legislature from1776 to 1779 and became known as a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. During this time, he helpeddraft the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. He served a second term in the Virginia Houseof Delegates from 1784 to 1786. He gained a reputation for his ability to build coalitions.

麥迪遜很早便開(kāi)始了他的政治生涯。他被稱(chēng)為托馬斯·杰斐遜的門(mén)生，1776年至1779年時(shí)，他在維吉尼亞州議會(huì)服務(wù)。他在此期間協(xié)助起草了《弗吉尼亞宗教自由法令》。他1784年至1786年連任兩屆弗吉尼亞州眾議院的代表。他善于創(chuàng)建聯(lián)盟，并因此而聞名。

Madison was 36 when he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and made amajor contribution to its ratification. He felt he hadn't earned the title of "Father of theConstitution" and wrote that it was not "the offspring of a single brain, but the work of manyheads and many hands". In Congress, he helped frame the Bill of Rights and enact the firstrevenue legislation.

麥迪遜在36歲時(shí)參加了美國(guó)費(fèi)城的制憲會(huì)議，并為它的批準(zhǔn)作出了重大貢獻(xiàn)。他自認(rèn)為并不是所謂的“憲法之父”，他寫(xiě)道：這部憲法并不是“一個(gè)人的杰作，而是眾人的智慧與汗水的結(jié)晶。” 他在國(guó)會(huì)任職期間曾協(xié)助制定《權(quán)利法案》的框架，并頒布了第一條稅收法。

Madison served as President between 1809 and 1817. He led America into the War of 1812 totry to end British interference in American affairs. The war ended in 1815 and is often called"the Second War of American Independence". After the war he promoted a stronger nationalgovernment and signed a bill that created the Second Bank of the United States. He died at theage of 85 in 1836.

麥迪遜1809年至1817年擔(dān)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)。他試圖結(jié)束英國(guó)干涉美國(guó)內(nèi)政的局面，曾帶領(lǐng)美國(guó)人參加“1812年戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)”。該戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)于1815年結(jié)束，通常被稱(chēng)為美國(guó)的“第二次獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)”。他在戰(zhàn)后促進(jìn)建立了一個(gè)更強(qiáng)有力的美國(guó)政府，并簽署了法案成立美國(guó)第二銀行。麥迪遜1836年逝世，享年85歲。