Matt+B.++Madison

Name: James Madison Born: March 16, 1751, Port Conway, Virginia Died: June 28, 1836, Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia Political Party: Democratic-Republican Dates of terms: 1809- 1813 and 1813–1817 Vice President(s): George Clinton (1809-1812) and Elbridge Gerry (1813-1814)

__Thematic Context__ During Madison's presidency, tesions were high between Britain and America over naval trade issues. This was stifling to America's attempt to globalize their trade by trading with multiple European nations and not just England. England's show of disapproval of this idea was to retaliate with attacks on American ships that would enter into French harbors. This pushed America into a corner and forced them to take drastic action. First, they attempted to refuse to trade with Britain and tried to get France to join in with them, but France decieved America and did not listen. This then led America to attempt to garner English respect through force via the War of 1812. Although the end to the war was considered to be a draw, the amount of nationalism and trade that resulted from the war makes it a success and one of the biggest, and maybe the only, true success during Madison's Presidency. __Thesis__ Madison's most notable achievement, the War of 1812, was one that cements him in a favorable light as a president. This overshadows many other achievements he accomplished and makes him a solid B+ because of how the War of 1812 ended the tensions between America and the European powers and allowed the economy of America to flourish later on in history. __Goals__ Madison's overriding goal for the United States was to prove to the European powers that America was an independent country that could defend itself and its citizens. This goal was accomplished extremely well by the War of 1812 because the war was a boost for American nationalism. The Europeans recongnized that the Americans could not be bullied and had to be taken seriously as a nation. __Realtionship with Congress__ Throughout the length of Madison's term, he kept good relations with Congress due to his lack of interference in their daily matter. In some ways he took a page out of Washington's book and refused to really use his personal influence to make any sort of sway in the decision-making that took place in Congress. He took more of a stance on foriegn policy because of the tensions that had arose between Britain and America and would lead to the War of 1812 which is what dominated his second term in office. __Positive and Negative Outcomes__ "Mr Madison's War", as the War of 1812 was called by the Federalists, is the most postive outcome of James Madison's presidency because of the immense relief it gave to Americans and the sense of pride and nationalism it instilled in their hearts. He also stayed neutral on the decisions made by Congress which could be considered positive considering that an abuse of power would be extremely negative and may have caused dissent within the states. Although, Madison did remove members of his cabinet that did not agree with his views which may be considered negative because the lack of diversity of opinions in the executive branch may cause an incomplete representation of the American people. __Future Influence__ The policies of Madison influenced Andrew Jackson because of his service in "Mr. Madison's War" which made him a hero and a representation of the common man in government. It could be argued that without the War of 1812 Jackson may not have won his election and he may not have even have been a political contender in any election. The War of 1812 also put a nail in the coffin of the Federalist party which had been strict adversaries in the war efforts. __Conclusion__ The state of America had been grim before Madison took office with the tensions between America and the European powers. This was not helped by the drastic measures taken by Jefferson during the end of his presidency. However, Madison gambled on the War of 1812 and ended up turning the country around in a sort. In the process he did exert his power and shifted his cabinet to fit his views and that takes the seemingly perfect A that he would have gotten previously and reduced it to a B+, which by no means is a bad grade. While war is not always the answer to all problems, it sure solved the tensions between the world's powers and cements James Madison's place in history as the 4th president of the United States. __Bibliography__ __[]__ __[]__ __[|**http://americanhistory.about.com/od/jamesmadison/p/pmadison.htm**]__ __[|**http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison**]__ __[|**http://millercenter.org/president/madison**]__