Kyle+W.+-+Jmad+-+SP10

James Madison (Birth: March 16, 1751, Death: June 28, 1836) Political Party: Democratic-Republican President from: 1809-1817 (Two terms) Vice Presidents: George Clinton (First Term), none (1812-1813), Elbridge Gerry (1813-1814), none(1814-1817)

As the fourth President of the United States, James Madison deserves a B grade. While not being the perfect president or most popular, Madison held the nation together, forced Britain to stop meddling in American endeavors, established a firm national bank, and led America into an "Era of Good Feeling". Although Madison was not the greatest president, he did his job solidly and with the betterment of America as his goal.

President Madison's goals for his terms in office were to become truly free from Britain, fix the national bank situation, as well as to improve the nation as a whole. Unfortunately to accomplish Madison's first goal, a war was waged. The War of 1812 was fought for many reasons, one of the main reasons being the abduction of American citizens from unarmed merchant ships. These abductees were then forced to serve in the British Navy. President James Madison's requests for this to stop were ignored by Britain. Another cause for this war was the increasing tension between the Native Americans and white settlers migrating westward. President Madison persuaded Congress to declare war and soon after was still re-elected president.

The War of 1812 was on and one of the first moves by the Americans in this war was to push into British Canada. This plan was not particularly successful. In fact in the begining of the war, American troops were not having much success at all. It got so bad that at one point the British occupied Washington and set fire to many public buildings, including the White House and the Capitol. After this the Americans focused on maritime warfare and won many key water battles within the Great Lakes. Out West and to the South, the Native Americans were mostly neutralized by 1813. By 1814 all sides were tired of fighting. In 1815, the Treaty of Ghent was signed which effectively ended the war. However, Andrew Jackson and his army won the Battle of New Orleans almost three weeks after the treaty was signed because neither side knew the treaty was even in existence. It is said that not a single inch of land was gained or lost in The War of 1812.

The issue of the national bank was also a goal President Madison wanted to resolve, even before his presidency. In the second year of his presidency, Madison was faced with the expiring charter of the National Bank. Madison tried to block the Bank from even starting in 1791 but failed in doing so. So as president he allowed the charter to expire in 1811, but was forced to recharter the Bank in 1815 due to the expense of The War of 1812. To improve the nation as a whole, Madison made many efforts. One of which was to improve the nation's infrastructure. To do this Madison proposed that the Federal government provide support for the building of public roads and canals. He also unintentionally led America into "The Era of Good Feeling". This "Era" consisted of the Federalist party dissolving and political tension not being as high. Essentially, only his political party (then termed 'Republican') existed. Thus Madison accomplished his goals.

Madison's relationship with Congress was far from great. They clashed on many fronts and often nothing was accomplished within a reasonable time. The clashing started during The War of 1812 when Madison had to actively convince Congress to allow him to declare war. Following this Madison had trouble securing money for the war effort because Congress would not give him the funds he needed. This was a huge issue during the war. Even after the war Madison and Congress did not agree completely. When Congress proposed for the Federal government to fund the building of state roads and canals, Madison vetoed the bill citing 'unconstitutionalism'. Even after Congress tried to convince him to pass it, he still refused to pass the bill. Overall the relationship between Congress and President Madison was often quite shaky.

Madison's greatest accomplishemnt was the rechartering of the Bank. Without this action taken by the president, The War of 1812 would have been even more under funded and the current banking system would not be as advanced as it is today. By renewing the Bank's charter Madison ensured that there would be a strong economic base for this country. Even though this was against his personal feelings (Madison tried to block the original charter in 1791) he did it for the betterment of the country and its economic standing. On the contrary, Madison's greatest failure as president has to be The War of 1812. Although it got Britain off America's proverbial back, it cost loads of money, many lives were lost, Native American relations worsened, and almost no territory was gained. As you can tell not much good came out of this war. Even today, The War of 1812 is viewed as somewhat of a mistake. The cons far outweigh the feeble pros in The War of 1812. Overall the best thing President Madison did in his presidency was to recharter the bank. His greatest blunder being The War of 1812.

Madison's greatest accomplishment as president is also the action that carries on even today. This of course is the rechartering of the Bank. As previously stated, without the Bank being rechartered the current banking system would not be as advanced as it is today. It may not have affected future presidencies immensely, but it did last for future generations to use and improve. This is by far Madison's greatest feat.

In conclusion America was better off at the end of President James Madison's presidency. It was completely free from Britain's overbearing rule, national infrastructure was on the uprise, and "The Era of Good Feeling" was being ushered in. These were all welcomed by the American people. Having accomplished his goals, President Madison earned his solid grade of a B.

Sources: "American President: James Madison." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. <[]>.

"James Madison | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. <[]>.

Kennedy, D. M., Cohen, L., & Bailey, T. A. (2002). //The American Pageant: A History of the Republic: Vol 1, To 1877// (12th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.