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James Madison March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, King George County, Virginia – June 28, 1836 at the Montpelier estate in Virginia Political Party: Jeffersonian – Democratic Republican Terms: March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1817 Vice President: First Term – George Clinton, served 1805-1812; Second Term – Eldridge Gerry, served 1813-1814


 * Thematic Context: ** The Napoleonic War between France and Britain raged in Europe to decide who was going to be the most powerful country in Europe, around the time of James Madison’s presidency. Napoleon came into power after the French Revolution, and led the French against their bitter rivals for almost ten years. In this span of time, America was inadvertently swept up in the commotion. The French ordered a stop to their trade with Britain. This angered the British, and resulted in direct retaliation. Passing the Orders of Council, the British set up a blockade of areas that France controlled in Europe and declared that they could stop anyone who went against this. France, in turn, created more restrictions against the British. The United States relied heavily on trade from both France and Britain. When these new restrictions came out, the country was put between a rock and a hard place economically and politically. British ships began seizing American ships’ cargo for no apparent reasons and kidnapping American citizens to serve in the Navy. If American ships were caught trading with the British, French ships would attack them, and if American ships were caught trading with the French, British ships would attack them. To maintain their neutrality, the U.S. government responded by enacting an embargo against all foreign trade. The embargo failed miserably, but was revised during Madison’s presidency to only include Britain and France. The Napoleonic wars heavily impacted the country even though it occurred “across the pond”. The American people did not like that they were being exploited and wanted the government to do something about it. One last attempt to fix the situation between the U.S. and the European superpowers came in the form of Macon’s Bill no. 2. The bill offered to trade with one country and restore non-intercourse with the other, and Napoleon accepted. Britain didn’t react and the U.S. was forced to go to war. After the war of 1812, shipping and trade became better, but a new menace became apparent. Pirates in the Mediterranean were very common and forced countries to pay for protection. America was one of the countries that paid for their protection, but was attacked by one of the groups of pirates who requested substantially more money suddenly which the U.S. refused. American citizens were again frustrated by the lack of respect for their rights on the seas. The attacks forced Madison to send naval forces to the Mediterranean and clean up the mess. Scoring heavy hits on the pirate vessels, the naval ships solved the problem. For a number of years after the incident the United States continued to pay for protection from the other Barbary pirates. In both of these instances, events affecting America’s global trade occurred. Both times, Madison was forced to flex the muscles of America’s dedicated public and protected their shipping and commerce abroad. The Napoleonic war and the attacks of the Barbary pirates didn’t involve the Madison administration at first, but forced Madison to react and respond. Agriculture and industry were skyrocketing at this point in U.S. history, and they were producing so much that exporting their products kept them from being drowned in their own stock. Madison was able to solve these problems with only a few headaches and re-establish the country’s ability to trade with whomever they wanted whenever they wanted.


 * Thesis: **Despite being the secretary of state during Thomas Jefferson’s administration and being instrumental in the Embargo Act of 1807, James Madison was elected as the fourth president of the United States. When he first entered office he made it a point to repeal the embargo which had left the country in a state of depression, and advocated for the Non-Intercourse Act, limiting the embargo to only Britain and France. This was a more realistic step towards influencing the warring countries to respect America’s neutrality than the total embargo. Even further than the Non-Intercourse Act, Madison pushed for Macon’s Bill No. 2, proposing an ultimatum for Britain and France. Whoever would respect America’s neutrality would gain trading rights with the U.S. and non-intercourse would be maintained with the other. France accepted America’s offer, although not wholeheartedly. All of Madison’s attempts to reinforce neutrality on the seas were ignored by the British; the impressments of U.S. sailors and the seizure of U.S. merchandise angered the Americans. Adding British influenced Native American attacks in the west and the interest in Canadian land, war was inevitable. He thought the military should be small though. The beginning of the War of 1812 was host to many American follies and losses, but ended with great victories, an enhanced sense of nationalism, a booming domestic industry, and a stop to economic dependence on Britain. Madison’s work fixing Jefferson’s embargo and work defending the United States right to neutrality deserves a B.


 * Goals: **Madison said that the US deserves peace and neutrality for it has not interfered with the rights of any other countries. For that reason, if there is war and countries forget America’s stance and deliberately involves them, then there will be consequences. In his inaugural speech, he expressed his wish to remain at peace with foreign nations. Rather than solve conflicts with war, discussions and agreements were his ideas to solve problems. He doesn’t want to cut the U.S. off from all countries, rather foster the prospect of trading with those nations with similar views and are welcoming. Madison didn’t want to play favorites though, he hoped that all foreign countries would be held at the same standards and respected equally. Domestically, Madison wanted to renew the sense of pride in the nation that had once been very high after the Revolution and solve many of the disputes that separated Americans. He understood the Constitution and wanted to emphasize the rights of the states and the people while maintaining the strength and integrity of the federal government. Madison was a huge believer in the protection of civil and states’ rights; it was definitely evident in his inaugural speech that protecting those rights were going to be pivotal during his administration. True to his political party’s views, he did not want a large standing army to be established. Even with conflicts intensifying between Britain and France, he did not think it was a smart move. Madison wanted to get rid of the debt and promote domestic farming, manufacturing, and trade. The last goal of his speech was to include the Native Americans more in their “civilized” society and break them from their “savage” ways.


 * Relationship with Congress: **America had maintained neutrality for the most part for a long time. When the American public finally began to get fed up with the British interfering with merchants and the impressments of American Citizens into the British Navy, James Madison really had no choice but to prepare for war. The “war hawks” wanted war desperately because of the Native American attacks on the frontier paid for by the British and the prospect of acquiring new land from Canada. Madison finally asked Congress to approve a declaration of war against Britain in 1812. The war hawks were prominent in Congress and jumped on the opportunity immediately. Congress began listening to Madison’s requests more and more. As a result of the war, he learned the importance of a national bank and moved for the establishment of one. Congress passed that act which Madison was previously against early in his administration and an act creating a protective tariff to bolster the consumption of domestic goods. Madison’s relationship with Congress was decent, they listened to him and he listened to them. One bill Madison did veto that Congress argued was the Bonus Bill of 1817, which was meant to improve the country’s infrastructure. Earlier, he strongly supported this cause, but thought Congress was overstepping its authority. During his presidency, cooperation was needed between the two branches and for the most part there was.


 * Positive Event: **One positive event of Madison’s presidency was the war of 1812. It had been Madison’s goal to stay out of war, similar to past presidents, but this one seemed inevitable. There were three factors that made the United States as a whole angry; the British interference with American shipping, specifically the kidnapping of American sailors and forcing them into the British navy and the seizure of American products with no reason, the British supported Native American attacks on the frontier, and the opportunity to take Canadian land all contributed to the outbreak of war. The Americans were not very organized and powerful, and it showed. They launched an invasion of Canada in three different locations, stretching their already small numbers even thinner. The British easily repelled the Americans and began the offensive, preparing to invade America from the north. On the naval front, the Americans were able to score some impressive victories that brought life back to the campaign. Invading the Chesapeake, the British burnt down the Capitol and proceeded to Baltimore where they were stopped by American forces at Fort McHenry. Britain and the United States finally settled the war with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in December of 1814. Both sides neither really gained nor ceded anything. The treaty was signed, but fighting continued since no one knew. At the Battle of New Orleans, the Americans destroyed a British detachment attempting to capture New Orleans. The Americans lost only twenty-one men while the British lost two-thousand. In the wake of the war, other nations began to respect America as a formidable opponent. Native Americans relinquished huge tracts of land after being beaten and westward expansion kicked into high gear. As a result of British blockades, industry was forced to grow to support the country, and in the wake of the war it was booming. Probably the greatest outcome of the war was the increase in nationalism that brought the country together under one common cause.


 * Negative Event: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">One negative event of Madison’s presidency was the Non-Intercourse Act. The Embargo of 1807 had been a huge folly of Jefferson’s and Madison set out to correct it. His intentions were pure and were meant to solve the problems of foreign nations ignoring their neutrality on the seas without physical confrontation. The Non-Intercourse Act only suspended trade with Britain and France instead of the whole world. While this was an improvement to the embargo, it still did nothing to stop the British or French. Desperate to not start a war, the U.S. repealed the acts and in passing Macon’s Bill no. 2, and tried to gain the support of either France or Britain. Napoleon jumped at the offer and began taking advantage of the United States for his country’s gain. He wanted to create a little blockade that he wouldn’t even need to worry about. Madison hoped that the British would be threatened by this action and went along with Napoleon even though he didn’t trust him. The British didn’t repeal their Orders in Council, what they said gave them the right to do what they did to American ships, and they said America must only trade with them alone. His plan failed and war was the only option left.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Influential Decision: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The decision made by Madison that affected future presidencies was the Tariff of 1816. As one of the last actions of his presidency and meant to compel citizens to purchase American products rather than European products, the government passed the protective tariff to raise the prices of European goods, which could be produced at cheaper rates, and make the products of the Americans, which were more expensive to produce, more competitive. Tax rates of up to twenty-five percent were place on the imported goods. Protective laws, like the Tariff of 1816, began an era that lasted until around 1842. As production processes became refined and costs went down for manufacturers, the prices of domestically manufactured goods went down. With companies reducing the prices, the protective tariffs that all began from the institution of the Tariff of 1816 began to be gradually reduced. The protective tariffs did not contribute to the recuperation of the Panic of 1819, but still was fairly significant. This decision impacted the presidencies of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson with the Tariff of Abominations, and a more moderate tariff in 1832. The Tariff of Abominations, or the tariff of 1828, was proposed by Jackson supporters thinking that it would be defeated in Congress and be a black eye to Adams and his administration. The law was passed and angered many people. Later, when Jackson became president, he fixed the tariff to please those dissatisfied.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madison’s presidency was plagued with problems from the beginning in large part thanks to Jefferson. The Embargo of 1807 needed to be fixed from the get-go, and Madison tackled that right away, although not as best as he could. The Non-Intercourse Acts and Macon’s Bill no. 2 began to fix the situation, but in the end war was the only option. Despite all the risks and dangers, America came out on top with Madison leading the way. Nationalism took hold of the country and new respect came flowing in from foreign countries all over. Madison knew what the country needed and got it done. America was on its way to becoming well established with a booming economy and a strong government that knew its purpose more so than ever. For all he was able to accomplish during his presidency, except for letting Napoleon use the United States with Macon’s Bill, his administration requires a B rating on a scale of A to F.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">DeGregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. 6th ed. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade, 2005. Print. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"James Madison." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. //The American Pageant: A History of the Republic//. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madison, James. "James Madison: Inaugural Address." //The American Presidency Project//. Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Milestones: 1801-1829 Napoleonic Wars and the United States, 1803-1815." //Office of the Historian//. Department of State, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Taussig, F. W. //The Tariff History of the United States//. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1931. Print. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tristam, Pierre. "President James Madison Declares Victory Obver Barbary Pirates in 1815." //About.com Middle East Issues//. About.com, 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
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