Side-Splitting Historical Facts That Will Leave You in Stitches

Side-Splitting Historical Facts That Will Leave You in Stitches

Shannon Quinn - December 29, 2022

Side-Splitting Historical Facts That Will Leave You in Stitches
James Madison as a student at Princeton, portrait by James Sharples. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

James Madison Got Paid to Write Several Letters to Himself

After he became the first President of the United States, George Washington hired James Madison to ghostwrite his letters for him. One of the very first letters was addressed to Congress, telling them how excited he was to get started with work. Congress wanted to respond to Washington, and guess who they hired? James Madison! (There weren’t a lot of freelance writers around back then.) Funnily enough, Washington and Congress hired Madison again, making a total of four letters in a row that were all written by the same person. Years later, James Madison would go on to become the 4th President of the United States… And he probably wrote his own letters.

Advertisement