Matt+V.+-+JMadison


 * James Madison
 * Born March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia
 * Died June 28, 1836 (age 85) in Montpelier, Virginia
 * Democratic-Republican
 * President from 1809-1817

James Madison was a fairly decent president, one who is not usually noted too often for being a great or even good at his job. His overall acheivements include re-establishing the national bank and leading America through the war of 1812. Overall, his presidency would be considered a C- grade, because of his leadership skills during a war and helping build a national economy... came up somewhat short. Madison didn't really seem to have many goals as president. His presidency came at an unusual time, where two key events took place. The most noted War of 1812, which was smack dab in the middle of his terms, and the renewal of the National Bank, which was to expire in 1811. The twenty year charter expired in the second year of Madison's administration. Madison failed to stop the creation of the Bank in 1791, and waited for its charter to expire. However, once the war of 1812 broke out, Madison realized how difficult it was to finance a war without a bank. So after vetoing the bill proposed by congress in 1814, Madison signed a charter in late 1815 that re-instated the National Bank. A Hamilton National Bank. A bank system that he had opposed strictly as a Democratic-Republican, based on the system of using tarriffs; However, he limited the amount of tarriffs and made clauses within the bank that limited their power. Which was good, but it didn't give Madison much of a positive label. Madison's presidency was most known for his work before he even became president. His help in creating the Federalist papers with Hamilton and Jay. His nickname is the Father of The Constitiution, so he kinda had a large role in creating and ratifying that. But during his presidency, he lead the country through the War of 1812; Allowing Andrew Jackson to lead the military through the "Second War for Independance", and showed his military power in the epic battle of New Orleans. Madison didn't seem to have much of an effect on the next president, Monroe. The only major action he took was to renew the national bank under the theories of Alexander Hamilton. Which was all he had really passed on anyway. Overall, the country was much better off after Madison's presidency, because he re-created the bank and won the War of 1812. So in a nutshell, we were free from the British and working our way up to the top, but it could have been done by almost anyone really. Anyone at all...

Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. "James Madison." __American President: James Madison__. 2008. University of Virginia. 25 Sept. 2008 .

Ketcham, Ralph. "Madison, James." __Welcome to The American Presidency__. 2006. Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia. 25 Sept. 2008 .