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=**James Madison**=

Vice Presidents:
George Clinton from 1805 - 1812 Elbridge Gerry from 1813 - 1814

Presidential Evaluation
James Madison was America's fourth President, and is considered one of the "Founding Fathers of the United States." Overall, Madison deserves a letter grade of a B-. He made good decisions about laws, but he sent our already weak country to war again with Britain. He opened the Second Bank of America which stayed in operation for almost 35 years. He left the United states feeling at peace with each other and other foreign countries.

Madison had many goals as President. One of those goals was to end British and French abuse against American ships. He reached this goal by passing the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809. This Act allowed America to trade with all countries except France and Great Britain. This Act did not have very much effect, so he instead passed the Macon Bill of 1810. This Bill said that Britain or France would be allowed to trade with America but only if they respected the fact that all American ships were neutral. France agreed to this, but the British did not so Madison reposted the Non-Intercourse Act for Britain only. Since Britain would not agree to the neutrality of American ships, Madison declared war. This war later became known as the War of 1812. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent and both sides were back to where they started. With support from President Madison, the Second Bank of the United States was opened in 1816. This was very successful and was not shut down until 1836 by President Jackson.

James Madison had a mediocre relationship with Congress. They had some very different views and opinions on certain subjects, especially when it came to war. When Madison passed the Non-Intercourse Act with great Britain in 1810, the Congress was fed up with Britain. They wanted him to pass a more aggressive act and maybe even declare war on them. The Congress during his term was divided into two parties: the Democrat Republicans and the Federalists.

After the Treaty of Ghent was signed, the nation had a feeling of nationalism. Madison's best achievement as President was his decisions on how to handle the people. He knew he made a mistake by going to war with Britain again, so he sent over delegates to sign the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war. When Congress wanted to pass a law dealing with building roads and canals, he thought of the people first. He claimed that supporting the buildings would hurt the general welfare of the people. He vetoed the bill and then recommended a Constitutional amendment. He never let issues die. Even though he vetoed the bill, he did something about it to help out the country. He knew his country was weak and needed everything possible in order to gain more strength. He also opened the Second Bank of the United States. He waited until after the war was over because he knew the nation needed money. This bank was a great success and it was not closed until 1836. However, one of the worst decisions that Madison made as President was to go to war with Britain. The War of 1812 had no good outcomes. America got absolutely nowhere. They were just as they were before they started the war, perhaps even weaker. Congress declared war because the British were invading American naval forces, even though America was a neutral country. Madison went against the belief of Washington, "avoid war at all cost." The main cause of conflict was the Naval Laws enforced by Britain. Just two days before the war, Britain agreed to repeal the laws that were causing so much fighting. If the United States would have been listeing to this, there could have been no war. The country was divided even more as a result because they felt the country had not been prepared for a war. This war is sometimes called the War of Second Independence. The country was risking almost everything when going to war again after they had just won a huge war. The country was very weak at the time, and they could have very well been taken over by Britian again. All the fighting and deaths that had been a result of the American Revolution would have gone to waste. Why risk your freedom when it has just barely been won?

One thing that Madison did that influenced future presidents was how he left the country when he retired. It is difficult to leave the country and peace, feeling unified, and not in the middle of a war. Albert Gallatain said about Madison "Never was a country left in a more flourishing situation than the United States at the end of your administration." Every President wants their country to prosper, and that is a dream that still lives on today.

Overall, Madison was a good president, not a great one. He deserves a letter grade of a B-. He sent our weak country into another war with Britain. He did, however think about the people before acting. Bills were vetoed because in would infringe upon the general welfare of the people. He opened the Second Bank of America which was in operation for almost 35 years. He was an influential president because he left our country flourishing, and that is something that Presidents today still strive for.

Bibliography:
Websites: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison/ http://www.42explore2.com/1812war.htm http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576510_5/James_Madison.html http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/jmadison.html Books: The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents The American Pageant