James Madison and the Declaration

Paul Specht at PolitiFact:

Speaking at the Republican National Convention, 25-year-old congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn said that people who doubt young people "don’t know American history."

Cawthorn, who faces Democrat Moe Davis in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, then reeled off a few historical figures who were young when they helped change America.

"George Washington was 21 when he received his first military commission. Abe Lincoln: 22 when he first ran for office. My personal favorite: James Madison was just 25 years old when he signed the Declaration of Independence," Cawthorn said.

While Cawthorn’s claims about Washington and Lincoln merit minor corrections, there’s a big problem with his claim about Madison.

Madison did turn 25 in 1776, the same year the Declaration of Independence was signed. But Madison didn’t sign it. You can see the list of signatories on the website for the National Archives.