Josh+M.++Madison

James Madison March 16, 1751 Port Conway, Virginia -June 28, 1836 Orange, Virginia Republican Party (Democratic-Republican Party) Two Terms in Office: 1st 1809-1813 2nd 1813-1817 Vice Presidents: 1st George Clinton (1809-1812) 2nd Elbridge Gerry (1813-1814) Dates of inauguration 1st March 4, 1809 2nd March 4, 1813 America now had an identity with foreign affairs as a neutral country that was built up by former presidents that felt it was essential for the growth of our nation. Madison however changed that most significantly with Macon’s Bill No. 2 which was the first thing that directly interacted with other countries. Although the Embargo and non-intercourse acts were passed which affected foreign trade Macon’s Bill No. 2 directly said that if either Britain or France repealed their acts on trade the other must as well or that country would have an embargo against them. This would have America siding with either France or Britain if one of them repealed their act, which was no longer neutral. After Macon’s Bill No. 2 America could no longer be neutral and had to take standpoints in foreign affairs. Another pivotal event in the defining of the American Identity was the war of 1812 because after the war it started Britain and America on the path to becoming allies. After the war all of the issues that were causing it originally were ended, whether by treaty or on its own, and America and Britain were at peace. After time America and Britain became close allies which has lasted until today. It also gave America economic independence from Britain because during embargos with Britain and Europe the industry of America grew allowing them to not rely solely on agriculture and to be able to produce their own goods. James Madison was the fourth president of the United States and was president during the war of 1812 which was a crucial time in America, which Madison handled quite well as president. However the war may have been avoided if Macon’s Bill No. 2 was not passed because the bill made America side with the French in trade restrictions and caused them to embargo Britain. This happened because Napoleon tricked America by saying he would end his trade restrictions so that America would put an embargo on Britain. Madison was able to set borders back to before the war in the Treaty of Ghent which helped to restore peace with Britain. Due to Madison passing a bill that partially caused the war of 1812 and his handling of the war of 1812 he deserves a B-. In Madison’s first inaugural address his main goal was to stay peaceful with foreign nations and to respect the nations currently at war by staying neutral in the war and not favoring one side. His goal was partially supported by the non-Intercourse act because it refused trade with both of the warring countries of Britain and France which did not support either nation. This goal was broken by Macon’s Bill No. 2 because that made America no longer impartial to Britain and France and made them support Britain. During Madison’s first term America also entered into the war of 1812 which lasted through most of his second term as well. In Madison’s second inaugural address his main goal was to restore the nation to before it was in the war of 1812 and to end the issues that caused the war. This goal was successful because Madison did end the war of 1812 and during the Treaty of Ghent the boarders from before the war were restored. However many issues that caused the war, like impressment of sailors was not fixed in the treaties. However they stopped on their own along with the British defeat of Napoleon which ended Britain’s need for more sailors. While Madison was president both the Senate and House of Representatives were a majority Democratic-Republican like Madison was, which means that Madison most likely had a favorable relationship with legislature. Madison vetoed two major bills from legislature, one of which was the passing of a second national bank. This was later revised and passed by Madison because he felt that it was necessary during the war of 1812 to regain funds needed. His decision of war was widely supported by legislature in all areas except for the New England states who were very much against the war. The main division in legislature for many laws passed by Madison were not between parties, but from region because most of his bills passed was about the war and that was where regional separation was shown. One bill that Madison vetoed surprised his party and that was a bill to allow the federal funding of highways and canals. Madison said that the bill was passed the regulation of legislature to pass and was therefore unconstitutional. Madison passed many acts that had a positive impact on the nation one of which at the time was very negative, but in some aspects was still a positive and that was declaring war on Britain. This was positive because during the time isolation from trade with most European powers America was able to develop more from an agrarian to a more industrial country. It was the beginning of America becoming the industrial superpower that it is today. It also later brought peace between America and Britain by ending the lasting conflicts between the two nations. He also passed a charter for the second national bank of the United States which majorly boosted the economy after the war and was able to help pay from the war with Britain that was taking a major financial toll. One major negative that Madison passed was Macon’s Bill No. 2 because although it was meant to benefit America by pitting France and Britain against each other France ended up tricking America into passing an embargo against Britain alone by using Macon’s Bill No. 2. This helped to lead to the war of 1812 which had short term negative effects for the United States. The most notable was the drastically negative affect that it had on the economy of the United States, as most wars do. Also his veto of the act to have the federal government pay for highways and canals led to each state needing to pay for maintenance of roads which added to state costs. The biggest future impact on the United States that Madison had during his terms in office was the war of 1812. It allowed for America to develop into a major industry nation by sparking the need for industry because of the isolation from the war. It also partially defined the boarders of the United States through status quo ante bellum which returned the boarders to before the war and helped define the northern boarders of the country. Other than those two things Madison did little that impacted the future of America because his main focus throughout his presidency was the war of 1812. Even though Madison may have caused the war of 1812 and had to be president through the war the country was better off after his presidency. The war was actually a blessing in disguise because it caused peace with Britain and industry in the long run with Britain. However in the short term the country was struggling economically at the end of Madison’s presidency because of the war. James Madison did very little outside of the war of 1812. In the years before war was declared he was dealing with issues with Britain, Native American’s on the frontier backed by the British, War-Hawks calling for war, and the opposition to war from the New England states. Madison managed a B- because of the positive outcomes of the war. However his ranking would be very different if he was not elected for a second term in office because he would not have been able to resolve the war himself. Degregorio, William A. "James Madison." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. N.p.: Wings, 2005. 55-72. Print. "Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States." Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . "James Madison." James Madison. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . "James Madison." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . "Miller Center." American President: James Madison. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. .
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