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**​James Madison**

**Name:** James Madison
 * Birth:** March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia
 * Death:** June 28, 1836 in Montpelier, Virginia
 * Political Party:** Democratic-Republican
 * Terms of Office:** March 4, 1809 through March 4, 1817
 * Vice President:** George Clinton (1809-1812) and Elbridge Gerry (1813-1817)

James Madison was the fourth president of the United States under the Constitution and is considered as one of the Founding Fathers. Throughout his presidency he displayed both positive and negative actions which is why he has earned average grade of a low “C”. Upon entering his presidency James Madison’s main goal was to preserve the United States. Throughout his presidency, Madison was constantly having foreign issues with both Britain and France. Britain would intercept unarmed American merchant ships and convince the sailors, who could have been British subjects, to go into service of the British Navy and France gave Madison some questionable information regarding American trade with Britain, which in turn sparked a war between the two nations. Madison strongly understood the Constitution, the need for a strong federal power, the system of checks and balances as well as the separation of church from state, and the rights given by the Bill of Rights. By being able to perceive these concepts and to be able to apply them is how Madison was able to keep the United States together during his terms. James Madison’s relationship between himself and Congress was something not to be desired. This was strange given the fact that most of Congress was run by Democratic-republicans like himself. Congress went behind Madison’s back and passed the Macon’s Bill No. 2, which reopened trade with both France and Britain, when Madison specifically wanted another embargo act to be passed. Madison felt that reestablishing trade with these nations revealed their weakness for a need of a European trading ally. But Congress wasn’t the only one at fault in this relationship; Madison vetoed the bill for establishing the second bank of United States, as well as convincing an inadequate secretary of treasury to remain in office. Also, Madison vetoed the bill for allowing both a Baptist and Episcopal church to be built in the D.C. area. Madison had reasoning behind his decision for he felt that allowing churches to be built near the capital, religion would become involved in governmental decisions, which is what the Constitution stated not to do. It is because of this shaky relationship that Madison was not able to pass all of the bills he wanted to. James Madison’s presidency didn’t have many positive outcomes until the closing of his second term when he decided to turn his attention to helping the states. Madison addressed to Congress that he wanted military streamlining, a new national bank, protective tariffs to promote industry, vigilance in foreign affairs, and some internal improvements. After the War of 1812 Madison and his secretary of treasury realized how difficult it was to fund a war without a national bank, they often had to turn to Congress for money. He also wanted military streamlining because of the large increase of army and naval units due to the War of 1812, and vigilance in foreign affairs to help prevent wars in the near future. Negatively, the War of 1812 had to be one of the worst decisions made by James Madison in the citizens’ eyes, other than not reestablishing the national bank as soon as possible. Many United States citizens didn’t understand why Madison went to war, nor did they understand why it was even necessary due to the fact the neither Britain or the United States gained or lost any land. Thankfully, this negative turned out to have some positive effects such as Britain finally realizing that they had lost the United States colonies for good and they came to terms with accepting their independence. Also, the Canadian border was officially established. Since the War of 1812 Britain and the United States have been at peace. The most influential decision made by James Madison would have to be either the reestablishment of the United States national bank or his decision to go to war with Britain. By refusing the bill for the second bank, the United States realized how important it is to have a national bank is and how difficult it is to fund things without one and the United States have used banks ever since Madison mistake. By going to war with Britain, the United States was finally independent from Britain and now they’re an excellent ally to us. In conclusion, James Madison wasn’t like the presidents before him, both in stature and with his decisions. He played with the pore hand of cards dealt to him and was still able to have a positive outcome near the end of his presidency. By having a more secure relationship with Congress perhaps his presidency could have turned out better and perhaps if he considered what the nation would be like with or without certain key structures he might have been able to avoid his mistake of not reestablishing the national bank. He did however enforce the Constitution throughout his presidency and for that he deserves a low C. Bibliography

"American President: James Madison." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 17 Sept. 2009. .

"James Madison -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Web. 17 Sept. 2009. .