Steve+-+JMadison

Steve Tran Madison Wiki September 03, 2008 James Madison Birth Date: March 16, 1751 Death Date: June 28, 1836 Date of Term(s): 1809-1817 Political Party: Democratic-Republican Vice President(s): George Clinton 1809-1812 Elbridge Gerry 1813-1814

James Madison was not what you would call the wisest president. He failed to keep his major goal for his presidency and caused a war that did little for the U.S. and perhaps injured the U.S. to boot. James Madison was a C grade president due to these issues. James Madison had the goal, which was also stated in his inaugural address, that he had wanted to keep the peace, but would not accept trouble from other countries. In part, this goal was completed. He did not accept trouble from other countries, but he failed to keep his promise of peace when he declared war on Britain in the war of 1812. This war also caused the Native Americans, who were hindering the expansion of the U.S. westward, to be caught up in the fighting as well. Another of his goals which was a big issue during his presidency was to improve relationships with France and Britain in trade. At the time Britain and France placed restrictions on trade with America by seizing American trade ships. James Madison tried to improve the relationship with Britain and France by issuing the Non-Intercourse Act which allowed unrestricted trade with every other country except Britain and France. This didn’t help the situation because American ships were still being seized. The act was then repealed. Madison had failed to accomplish this goal as well. Congress and Madison had a pretty bad relationship. Madison’s relationship with the Federalists was horrible during his presidency. Madison and the Federalists did not agree on the War of 1812. The Federalists were against the war and even nicknamed the war Mr. Madison’s War. There was even the Hartford Convention affair which took place around the end of the War of 1812. The Convention was held by New England Federalists who wanted to separate from America. This though was never accomplished but illustrates how the Federalists did not get along well with Madison. Madison was not in good terms with his party and cabinet. There were factions fighting in there. Madison vetoed some bills that pertained to the establishment of a federal-backed religious project, such as building a church. Madison also vetoed a bill to help states build roads. In the end, Madison did not have a very good relationship with Congress at all. Madison’s most positive impact would have to be his Tariff Act of 1816, also known as the Dallas Tariff. This tariff protected the American economy from the cheap British goods. The British had lots of iron and textiles at their hands, which allowed them to lower their prices on the goods. This meant that British goods were cheaper than American made goods, which was bad for American manufacturing businesses. James Madison established the Tariff of 1816 to help protect manufacturers to grow in America, until they were able to take care of themselves. It increased the price of British goods so that American manufacturers had a chance of selling their products. This tariff was not popular with traders who wanted to increase trade with Britain or the South because it would do damage to their cotton export with Britain. This was probably the most positive thing James Madison did during his presidency because it did protect the manufacturers of America. James Madison’s most negative thing that he did during his presidency would have to be the War of 1812 and his handling of foreign affairs. The War of 1812 was brought on by Madison’s inability to handle foreign affairs with Britain. He had been tricked by France to stop trade with Britain. This led to Madison signing a declaration of war on Britain while the U.S. was not ready to fight and was poorly equipped to fight. All this led to Madison ordering the signing of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812. This Treaty did not even include a guideline to trade relations which was what the whole war was fought over. In the end the War of 1812 left the U.S. on bad terms with the Native Americans, who the U.S. fought with during the war as well. Also, the White House was burned down due to the War of 1812. This war was a rather pointless war due to the gains the U.S. received was zero and the main issue of the fight had not been fixed. This was perhaps the worst thing Madison did in his entire presidency. James Madison did establish a sort of precedent on how religion and the government should stay separate. This was done on his vetoes of some of the bills that were given to him dealing with religious groups and establishments. One bill had suggested building a Protestant church in the District of Columbia. Another bill suggested building a Baptist church in Mississippi. These Madison vetoed due to the bills being unconstitutional because the government could have no power on establishing anything that dealt with religion. Madison made sure to enforce the Constitution and to make it a precedent that the U.S. government didn’t get their hands in any religious matter that way. We can see that this precedent is also seen today because the U.S. still holds the power of the government and religion separate. There is no national religion in the U.S. due to the help of Madison standing firm on the Constitutions words when he vetoed the bills because it showed no religion was favored. Had Madison signed those bills there would have been religious uprisings about which religion the government supported more as well as other religious conflicts. This was an important precedent that Madison helped enforce during his presidency. In conclusion, James Madison was not a good president because he failed to meet his goals of improving America’s relationship with France and Britain. He also caused the War of 1812 which did not give America much of anything. His relations with Congress were horrible due to his enemies of the opposing party and not to mention problems in his own party. He did help with the growth of America’s economy with his tariffs to protect American industries. He also helped establish separation of church and state in vetoing bills that he thought were unconstitutional. All in all James Madison deserves a C for his presidency for attempting to deal with what he was given, but he didn’t do it successfully.

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Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. __American Pageant : Advanced__ __ Placement __. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2001.

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