When did James Madison become a protege of Thomas Jefferson?

Answer 1

I make the argument that Madison was never Jefferson's protege. Madison and Jefferson met when they were both members of the Virginia House of Delegates. Madison was the younger of the two but in the course of this relationship he never found himself in a position in which he was learning from Jefferson as a protege does. If you read the earlier papers of Madison his ideas do not differ from his ideas after meeting Jefferson. There is the argument that Madison was a firm believer in a strong federal government in the fashion that Hamilton was but then later is a believer in small government like Jefferson but a closer examination of his philosophy reveals a more consistent character. Like Hamilton, Madison believed throughout his career that a strong union was necessary. Like Jefferson, Madison believed that government required limits that Hamilton thought were hampered a robust national government. Madison believed, before Jefferson went to France, in a Franco-American alliance and encouraged a hesitant Jefferson to become the diplomat to France. He worked with Jefferson in the VA House of Delegates. He worked with Gov. Jefferson as a member of the Counsel of State. He encouraged him to go to France and then to return to America to become the first Sec. of State. He was Jefferson's younger ally. But to be a protege Madison would have had to sit at Jefferson's feet and expect to learn something he did not already know and believe. If anything, Madison was always the steady voice common sense that balanced Jefferson's boundless energy.