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Thomas Jefferson Born: March 16, 1751 at Port Conway, Virginia Died: June 28, 1836 at Montpelier, Viginia Political Party: Democratic-Republican Terms: 1)March 4, 1809-March 4, 1813 Vice President: George Clinton (until death in 1812) 2)March 4, 1813-March 4, 1817 Vice President: Elbridge Gerry (until death in 1814) Grade: C- Theme: The War of Independence shaped America’s national identity in a way that could not be reproduced in the following three hundred years. But throughout the journey, the shape of American identity began to conform to the world while keeping its distance from complete uniform thinking and behavior. Counting back until the beginning of the United States of America, time has molded the identity of the revolutionary Americans. James Madison, a pertinent player in shaping the American identity, was the fourth President of the United States of America. Though his eight years in office, Madison drastically altered the National Bank, Entered the War of 1812, and helped push the Federalist Party to the brink of extinction with his manipulation of America.

Assessment: In order to keep a country in order, a President must address his concerns and plans for the country while he will be in office. In his first Inaugural Address, President James Madison addressed many issues dealing with the maintenance of the country’s foundation. Some of the most important issues he brought to attention were the foreign affairs of America and support of the Constitution. James Madison wanted to create a peaceful façade for the American people so that they could remain neutral towards all nations. In fact, one of the most important goals of Madison was to keep the states in order so that the Union would not fall apart and ruin the new country of which they recently became a part. Madison had two goals which had to deal with shaping the American identity from the inside. The two main improvements that he wished to make dealt with farming, manufacturing, and commerce improvements as well as an advancement in scientific studies. Up until the War of 1812, his main focus was on the improvement of the country as a whole and the obedience of the Constitution, but after America entered the war, Madison’s views changed to help defend America. In his second term, Madison’s Inaugural Address stated that he wanted to protect America from the war, help rebuild national spirit and confidence, and defend his beliefs concerning the national government of the United States. His goals switched from being unselfish and gratuitous to a semi-maniacal lust for victory in his own regard. During his presidency, James Madison faced many obstacles in his relationship with Congress and the government. Madison’s cabinet was divided between separate parties, an uncooperative Congress, poor military leadership and aid, and a lack of unified popular support. Congress’ recalcitrant behaviors caused Madison many hardships with political banter and a manipulative essence of power over the country. During the War of 1812, for example, Congress reluctantly voted to enlarge the Army with troops signed for five years and did not expand the Navy even though Madison called for a complete defense to be raised within the country. Overall, Federalists completely disagreed with Madison’s governing and opposed him with immense force as a party. Even when the charter of the First Bank of the United States expired and Madison refused to renew the charted, Federalists in Congress forced Madison to reluctantly sign the charter for the Second Bank of the United States. Due to his lack of popular support, Madison was unable to accomplish many goals in office, but he was still a good leader and developer of the American identity because of his military improvements and America’s banking system. It may be impossible to heed the opinion of an entire country, so there were certainly some instances where James Madison provided for a select few groups. Madison wanted to help improve America but his views were not always unanimous throughout the United States. Many of his decisions were viewed as negatives, and while there were positives in the decisions Madison made, he did not do a very good job of supporting the national agenda. A few examples of the negative aspects of Madison’s presidency were his entrance in the War of 1812 and his reluctance to sign a new bank charter. When Madison refused to sign a new charter for the Bank of the United States when the first 20-year charter expired, he was setting himself up for failure. Although a bank seemed to contradict the Constitution, the United States could not fund a war without one and Madison discovered that it was increasingly difficult to support a country with no national means of revenue. Even the loathsome Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 which prevented Americans from trading with France of Britain backfired and hurt the American economy. When Madison entered into the War of 1812, he made an unwise choice to risk his country’s well-being, and it ultimately ended up ranking as the sixth worst mistake made by a United States President since the formation of this country. Although Madison made some rash decisions about how to handle foreign and internal affairs, he did contribute a few good things to the United States. For example, despite his own beliefs, Madison signed a charter which allowed the foundation of the Second Bank of the United States. The establishment of a new bank helped to fund the war America was helping to fight and it created very little hassle in the country because the Federalist party was a dying breed and they could not manipulate the banks to operate the way they pleased. Another respectable decision that Madison made was retracting America from the War of 1812 when the Treaty of Ghent was signed. Despite continued fighting, the War no longer endangered Americans and people could continue to shape their own American identities. As a president, it is difficult to explain the impact James Madison retained on the United States. However, one could recognize that James Madison held a necessary characteristic which helped him shape the American identity, and that attribute was his Constitutional obedience. He created an important standard for American presidents by strictly following the Constitution and the rights outlined in the document. Despite the fact that Madison’s emotions outweighed his judgment at moments in his presidency, he still remained loyal to the laws of the United States and retained its integrity and morals which helped prove his loyalty to the country. With his patriotism and values, James Madison left a huge impact by conserving the Constitution better than any president America has ever seen, and ultimately shaped the patriotism and loyalty of the citizens in the states. After eight years of being the President of the United States, James Madison stepped down from office. Over his reign, he did many things both controversial and favorable which left the country in worse shape that it had been when he entered office in 1809. He found a way to keep the country afloat, but he never accomplished anything spectacular that would contribute to a greater national unity. Overall, Madison deserved a C- because of his mistakes, but also because he instilled a solid confidence in the American people that Britain and France no longer held any control over them. He also helped to eliminate separation of the people when the Federalist party became nearly extinct. After his presidency, James Madison’s people felt good about being American and essentially, that is one of the most important contributions to the American identity Madison ever made.

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