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James Madison (Born in 1751 in Orange County,Va and died in 1836) Democratic-Republican Party In office from 1809-1817 V.P- George Clinton from 1809-1812. Elbridge Gerry from 1813-1814.

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States started his term during a hostile period. Jefferson, the former President had introduced the Embargo Act, which would restrict the U.S from trading with European nations to ensure domestic safety. This infuriated many groups of people, especially the New Englander's; whose economy heavily relied on trading. There were also many problems in the western frontier during this period. Despite Madison beginning his term during this critical time, he was extremely familiar with it all because he served on Jefferson's cabinet and assisted Jefferson in making a lot of decisions regarding to foreign policy. Therefore, this was a continuation of what he was doing previously, except that he was fully accountable for the decisions that he made. Because of Madison being put in a position of power during a time period in which America was on the brink of war and failed to achieve most of the goals he had clearly expressed, Madison deserves an B- for his presidency. Madison had done many brilliant things for the country that cannot be discredited previous to his terms, but he did not live up to his expectations through his performance in office.

Madison had addressed numerous goals in his inaugural speech, which he failed to accomplish. Among the list of goals that were unaccomplished were maintaining peace and neutrality, to get rid of the national debt, and to create improvements in agriculture, manufacturing, and trade. All of these failed goals were a direct result of the War of 1812. By starting the War of 1812, Madison failed to maintain peace with other countries along with neutrality. Although the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812, was signed in 1814 under Madison's term, peace wasn't maintained throughout his presidency as planned. But, it was peace that was an ending result of all of the war and hostility in America. Also starting the war did nothing to help get rid of the national debt. The country was already in previous debt from the Louisiana Purchase, acquired under Jefferson's term. But, Madison did nothing to reduce that debt. Instead, he urged Congress for the renewal of the Bank of the U.S, to be able to finance the war. He also sent a list of complaints regarding the British to sway Congress' opinion on whether they should agree on starting a war. Obviously, Madison's list of complaints had influenced their decision and caused the War of 1812 to begin. Improvements in agriculture, manufacturing and trade were also goals that weren't accomplished during Madison's presidency. This was displayed when the Hartford Convention was organized and colonists from New England demanded compensation for loss of trade during the controversies with Britain and also pushed for a 2/3 majority of Congress to pass another embargo. Madison's inability to follow through with his major goals heavily influenced his rating. He was stuck in a bad situation and did the best that he could. But, as President your actions reflect the country as a whole and there isn't much room for error in order to be successful.

James Madison had a great relationship with Congress. As stated previously, he was able to influence them to begin the war against Britain through his list of complaints. He also had very little trouble getting things passed through Congress. In fact, it almost seemed as if they were working in unison as they were originally intended. Congress agreed to recharter the Bank of the U.S for another 20 years. This was done after Madison argued that the bank was the only way that they could finance a war, if it were to occur. He had also stated that it was necessary in handling all financial aspects of the United States' economy. What Madison had argued was absolutely true and they did just that. The Bank was used to finance the war of 1812. Also, under Madison's presidency the Non Intercourse Act was passed. This temporarily halted trade with Britain and France. Madison had very little trouble with policies being passed during his terms because he had his party as a majority in Congress. This made things much simpler for him and they often shared similar views on most topics. That is the reason why I stated that it seemed as though they were working together. Although there wasn't much legislation that Madison proposed that was vetoed, some of the legislation that Congress did was. Of the numerous vetoes the most important had to be the veto of the federal Public Works Bill. This bill was intended to reconstruct America after the War of 1812 by restoring buildings, building new roads, etc. But, Madison denies Congress the right to fund this solely because it was not a right given to them by the Constitution. It did not "provide for common defense and general welfare" in his eyes. Through the information above it is inferred that Congress and Madison shared similar political views and had a great relationship.

Madison's Cabinet assisted him very little during his terms. This is because his cabinet was no comprised of the brilliant minds that former cabinets were made up of. They still had people that were considered to be intelligent at the time, but there weren't any that left their mark on this nation. Madison's cabinet often disagreed with a lot of his policies that he promoted and they weren't very cohesive in making decisions. It was also no help to Madison that he had both of his vice presidents die while in office. The first, George Clinton strongly disagreed with many of Madison's platforms. He then died in office. Then, the next Eldridge Gerry who was a supporter of Madison had died in office also. Gerry was famous for taking place in the redrawing of districts in order to favor one political party over another. What he had done was considered Constitutional and it is named Gerrymandering. This is because the way he redrew the district made it look like a salamander. He was most famously known for doing this and it really played a huge part in later Congressional elections. Gerry was probably the most beneficial member of Madison's cabinet, until he had left. Although the cabinet of Madison didn't do much to help him, the most beneficial thing they had done over the course of his presidency was temporarily pausing him from trying to start the war against Britain by constantly disagreeing with his policies and platform.

Madison presidency had a huge impact on future generations and presidential administrations. During his presidency a sense of nationalism was restored throughout America. This was mainly started against the battle against Tecumseh and the Battle of New Orleans. These two battles were major battles during the War of 1812, that helped display American strength and courage. This sparked nationalism within the country. This then resulted into many things with one being the creation of a national style of literature. Then, school books were no longer imported from Britain. American's began to write their own books for students to read. Madison's presidency also had a large effect on the Federalist party. The Hartford Convention formed in New England after the war. This was the collapse of the Federalist party and shortly the party became extinct. This displays how the Madison presidency had an everlasting effect on the nation.

The grade that Madison received was completely appropriate. This was because he had been put in a situation that was disastrous, but decided not to ameliorate it. He also failed to achieve many of his goals which he stated during his inauguration. This shows that he was selling false hopes in order to achieve the role as president. They may not have been his intentions all along or maybe he was forced into making the decisions that he made. But overall he did an average job. The country was slightly better off afterward than when he came in, so that is commendable. Although, his rating significantly decreased because of his lack of following through with his plans.

"American President: James Madison." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. .

"Art & History Home Origins & Development Party Division." //U.S. Senate//. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. .

"First Inaugural Address." Address. First Inaugural Address. The U.S House of Representatives, Washington D.C. 4 Mar. 1809. //Bartleby.com//. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. .