Positing that our fourth president did much of his enduring work before he turned 36, Michael Signer focuses here on the young James Madison's feud with charismatic firebrand Patrick Henry over religious freedom; his introduction of a framework for a strong central government; and his position as the intellectual "godfather" of the Constitution, playing a crucial role in ratifying the document at the 1788 convention in Virginia, when the nation's future hung in the balance. Considering how this unimposing, anxiety-prone man became one of the most dynamic founding fathers, Signer analyzes Madison's methods of debate and persuasion—and how such tactics might still be successfully applied today.