The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation was established by the United States Congress in 1986 to encourage outstanding current and future secondary school teachers of American history, American government, and social studies in grades 7 through 12 to undertake graduate study of the roots, framing, principles, and development of the Constitution of the United States.

Public Law 99-591 establishing the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation was signed by President Ronald Reagan on October 30, 1986.

In 1990, the Board of Trustees named retired Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Paul A. Yost Jr. as the first president of the James Madison Memorial Foundation.

Upon receiving their master's degree, James Madison Fellows complete a teaching obligation to fulfill the requirements of their fellowship.

[2] These members are appointed to terms of six years, but they may continue to serve on the board until a successor is confirmed, though limited to the end of the then session of Congress.

[2] The current board members as of December 22, 2024[update]:[3] Fellowship awards constitute the core of the Foundation's programs.

[4] Fellows are selected for their academic achievements and for their desire to be more knowledgeable secondary school teachers of social studies and American history and government.

Fellows must have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a course of study which emphasizes the Constitution and Bill of Rights and a willingness to devote themselves to teaching and to civic responsibility.

[6] James Madison Fellowships are awarded to master's degree candidates as follows: Fellowship recipients may attend any accredited university in the United States with a master's degree program offering courses or training that emphasize the origins, principles, and development of the Constitution and its comparison with the constitutions and histories of other forms of government.

James Madison Fellows are required to attend, at the Foundation's expense, a four-week institute in Washington, D.C., during the summer following their first academic year of study under a fellowship.

It offers the opportunity for both independent and directed study among the capital's unsurpassed resources in American history with some of the nation's leading scholars.