Alex+G.+-+Jmad+-+SP10

James Madison (1751-1836) Political Party: Democratic-Republican Term(s): March 4th, 1809- March 3rd, 1817 Vice Presidents: George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry

When President Madison got to the White House foreign and domestic affairs were not in the best shape. Even with the problems he had to deal with, he managed to leave the oval office in better shape then he found it. James Madison tried his best to avoid war with the Europe Powers; he ended up empowering the American economy, and created the 2nd National Bank. James Madison deserves an A for his terms as President, because even though he was not completely successful in avoiding war, he still made the best of his situation and did what was best for the country in every situation regardless of his personal or political opinion.

President Madison main goal was to avoid the French and English conflict as he stated in his first inaugural address, “[C]herish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations". He was clearly talking about France and England who were entangled in war at this point, Just before Madison took office Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act, which allowed trading with any foreign nation except for France and England because of the poor treatment and restrictions on trade of American merchant shipping vessels. If one of the nations repealed the sanctions against America, the president could reinstitute trade. When neither France nor England repealed their restrictions, Madison and Congress were forced to pass Macon's Bill No. 2. This allowed America to freely trade with any nation, including France and England. The bill also empowered the President to reinforce restrictions on either France or England, if the country lifted restrictions and the other nation failed to also do due so in 3 months. The French saw this opportunity and took it with the Cadore letter of August 1810 and lifting restrictions on American trade, however the British failed to lift their restrictions, which caused President Madison to enforce a British only Embargo. In response, the British did not stop seizing and impressing American ships and sailors. President Madison then went before Congress and asked for a Declaration of War, which they provided. Even though Madison failed at his original goal of remaining neutral, he tried and gave the British multiple chances for peace, but they just would not have it. Everyone reaches a point where enough is enough and you cannot be passive any longer; it took Madison 3 years to reach that point with Britain, but once he did it was all out war.

Congress and President Madison had a good relationship because the Democratic-Republicans were in majority and Madison was their candidate for the White House. For a large majority of the time the two branches worked in harmony together. In 1810, Congress and Madison passed Macon's Bill No. 2 and in 1812, Madison went to Congress with a list of complaints asking them to declare war on Britain, which they did oblige. Madison even brought back the National Bank with the help of Congress. Once the war was under way Madison quickly realized that a National Bank was needed to fund a full fledge war with England and once again Congress agreed with him and revived the National Bank. There was only one major issue that Madison used his veto power over Congress. The ironic thing was Madison supported the ideals of the bill, which would have funded the construction of federal canals and highways. Madison vetoed the bill because he said it overstepped the power of Congress ability of provide for the general welfare, but he did suggest an amendment to the constitution. This turned out to be Madison's final action as president, even in his final hours he kept a cool and level head that continuously looked out for the greater good.

The most positive action in Madison's presidency would have to be the Declaration of War in 1812, that Madison helped nudge Congress towards. Even thought the war itself was evenly matched and not an inch was gained or lost, America greatly benefited from the war. The war of 1812 is often called the Second War of Independence because during the lack of trade with Britain America industries stepped up and filled the void. This was a major step towards an industrial based economy and a step away from the agrarian economy. In the post war economy the industries flourished and prospered which was the begging of the economy that would maker America a world power. The most negative action of Madison would have to be the veto of the internal improvements bill. If Madison would have passed the bill it would have created much needed canals and highways connecting the nation allowing for greater trade, movement and expansion of the west, and overall national cohesiveness, but he vetoed it because it was unconstitutional and overstepped the powers of Congress.

The decision to revive the National Band is probably the decision that most affected the future administrations that Madison made. After the original bank ended and the United States went to war Madison quickly saw that a National Bank was needed to pay for the war. I personally believe Madison's fault was the length that he chartered the bank for; he set the length for 20 years, which is too many in my opinion. The war was already over when the 2nd National Bank was created, so a shorter time seems to be more reasonable. Initially the bank was good for America but as the years went by over speculation came back to bite the bank. The most pain was felt in the west were farms were foreclosed on and people viewed the National Bank as a monster. Andrew Jackson's administration felt the brunt of the heat from the National Bank when it was due to be rechartered but Jackson vetoed it because he believed it was unconstitutional of Congress and created an elitist and privatized monopoly on the banking system.

Overall, I believe James Madison actions forced America into the Industrial age along with a maturation of the economy from agrarian to industrial. I give Madison an A because he did fail to achieve his initial goal of avoiding war and remaining neutral but when all other options fail he chose the best one for the country repeatedly. When restricting trade with Britain did not work to protect our ships and sailors, Madison made the right call in declaring war. When Madison saw the national growing too large, he revived the National bank even though he opposed the 1st National Bank because he knew it was considered necessary. When a bill that would have funded national canals and highways, a cause Madison supported, came to his desk in his final hours as president, he vetoed it because he thought Congress overstepped their boundaries. James Madison was always looking out for the best of America and was willing to do whatever it took to make America better. Even in his final hours he still stayed true to the oath and himself, constantly guarding and guiding the nation to betterment

Works Cited "American President: James Madison: Foreign Affairs." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. . DeGregorio, William A. //Complete book of U.S. presidents//. Fort Lee, N.J: Barricade, 2005. Print. "James Madison Biography - 4th President of the United States." //American History From About//. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. . Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. //The American Pageant//. 12th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print. "Second Bank of the United States -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .