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=James Madison=
 * Full Name**: James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751- June 28, 1836)
 * Political Party**: Democratic- Republican
 * Terms of Office**: 2 (1809- 1813, 1813- 1817)
 * Vice Presidents**: George Clinton (1809- 1812 (died in office)), none (1812- 1813), Elbridge Gerry (1813- 1814 (health reasons)), none (1814- 1817)

Presidential Rating
From Father of the Constitution to President of the United States, there's no doubt James Madison did it all in his life. Soft spoken, small in stature, and balding, Madison was quite the opposite of presidents like outspoken Adams and out-written, if you will, Jefferson. Taking over at the height of conflict over in Europe, Madison entered into a sticky situation in the beginning. If I were to grade JUST Madison on his efforts, I would give him a solid B. However the grade is for his whole administration and because of so many difficulties during his time, I will have to give him the grade of D.

Going into the Presidency Madison wanted to continue the policy lay out of Democratic-Republican predecessor Thomas Jefferson. Being his Secretary of State, Madison supported his foreign relations with France and England and wished to continue the Embargo Act. However Madison did not have control of Congress in the least bit, which would haunt him on multiple instances. The Non-Intercourse Act, a loosened embargo, was due to expire in 1810. Instead of passing a new embargo, Congress passed Macon’s Bill No. 2. This completely reopened American trade with France and Britain, but was merely a bargaining measure. If one of those countries repealed trade restrictions and started trading with America, an embargo would be reinstated against the other nation. To Madison this showed the weakness of the United States and their need for a European trading ally. However this was no fault of Madison’s, as he could not dominate Congress as Jefferson did.

As mentioned earlier, Madison had an awful relationship with Congress. Although all throughout his presidency, the majority in both houses was Democratic-Republican, factions of his own party turned against him, and unlike his predecessor he could not dominate Congress and pass through the acts he wished to get passed. Congress passed bribing measures to stimulate foreign trade against Madison’s will. But one of the oddest measures what Madison’s veto of the National Bank Bill, only later to come back and ask for them to pass a bill for the national bank. This was a result of a flip flop on Madison’s part after his Secretary of the Treasury realized how hard it was to fund a war without a national bank.

To pick Madison’s most positive decision is like picking the lesser of many evils. His most positive decision, however, was to go to war with Britain in the War of 1812. While this was an ill-planned war against the mounting defenses of Britain, it could no longer be avoided. Since America won their independence in 1783, Britain had been aiming for another war. Washington avoided it with his neutrality proclamation. Adams got too involved with France to worry the British. Jefferson passed his Embargo Act to force Britain and France to respect the United States’ trading rights. By the time Madison rolled around, war was inevitable. Although ill-planned, the outcomes weren’t terrible. The United States border with Canada was established, which stopped the feuding and kept them on good terms with Britain. Not only that but afterwards, America finally won its independence. Britain had come to terms with its losses and since then, no warring or fighting has broken out between the United States and Britain. The ensuing nationalism that bound the country together after the war led to the Era of Good Feeling.

Not one decision can be classified as Madison’s worst. The War of 1812 comes pretty close though. Many questioned Madison’s motives to go to war, and felt he was only trying to show off to gain support. Not only that but American forces were trounced for next to nothing. After the war the nations were back to //status quo ante bellum//, meaning no gain on either side. Tied with the War of 1812 was Madison’s greedy veto of the Second National Bank Bill. Madison seeming only vetoed this bill to agree with his earlier resentment of it in 1791. However Madison saw the error of his ways and proposed a new bank bill, which got passed through and approved in 1816.

Madison left a lasting impression on the history of the United States. The Second Bank, which Madison proposed and approved, still stands as our federal safe box today. The War of 1812 also secured independence for America and finally allowed the conflicts in Europe, which consumed the first four presidents, to subside and allow the focus to stay on domestic issues. And America and Britain still haven’t fought since that treaty, even to this day.

Madison’s presidency was distraught with ill fought wars and political division. Had he not been under the circumstances of having a divided cabinet, Congress, and party, his presidency may have turned out better. But these circumstances restricted Madison and he was obviously not one that was able to say no in many cases. Because of all these problems his term as president has received a rating of a D. He does not completely fail though, because the War of 1812 ended up uniting Americans even more. So lesson learned- make sure your war UNITES us, and you’re set.

  "American President: James Madison." //Miller Center of Public Affairs- University of Virginia//. University of Virginia. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .   "Biography of James Madison." //The White House//. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .  "James Madison." //Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. +, Sept.-Oct. 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. .  Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. //The American Pagenat//. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.
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