Part 4 of My Presidential Review Series
James Madison is up next in my continuing series. Madison was the first president to not be nominated unanimously by his party's caucus. He was also the least physically impressive president of all time. He stood at only 5 ft. 4 in., and weighed a scant 100 pounds. He was the first president to declare a war. He served March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1817.
Shortly before leaving office, Jefferson approved the Non-Intercourse Act, but it was left to Madison to enforce it. The Non-Intercourse Act repealed the Embargo and approved trade with all nations except Britain and France. The U.S. promised to restore trade with either nation if they agreed to respect American neutrality. It became clear, however, that it was having no effect, so Madison approved Macon's Bill No. 2 to replace it.
Macon's Bill No. 2 repealed the Non-Intercourse Act and offered suspension of trade with the other nation if Britain or France agreed to respect U.S. neutrality. Napoleon agreed, and non-intercourse with Britain was reimposed.
On June 1, 1812, Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war against Britain. The war was caused by continued British impressment of American goods, Indian unrest encouraged and exploited by Britain, and the rise of "War Hawks" who wished to acquire Canada. Congress approved war; 79-49 in the House, 19-13 in the Senate.
As the War of 1812 began, it proved a disaster for the Americans. Madison appointed Genereal William Hull, an aging Revolutionary veteran, to march into Canada. He moved too cautiously, and eventually retreated to Detroit. When an inferior force of British and Indian troops surrounded his army, Hull surrendered without firing a shot (he was later court-martialed). Command was then given to William Henry Harrison, but he became bogged down in the Northwest. Another expedition into Canada led by Henry Dearborn also failed. Suprisingly, U.S. ships had early successes against the superior British navy, but Britain eventually imposed a blockade, and bottled up the American navy. These early losses revitalized the Federalist party in the election of 1812. Madison was only reelected due to the Federalist candidate DeWitt Clinton's attempt to appeal to everybody.
Britain dominated Lake Erie until September 1813. Then, Captain Oliver Hazard Perry led his 8-vessel fleet and defeated the British. With Lake Erie under firm American control and Detroit recaptured, William Henry Harrison pursued the British into Canada and defeated them at the Battle of the Thames, in which the Indian leader Tecumseh was killed. During this time, however the British penetrated weak American defenses at Chesapeake Bay and took Washington D.C. They burned down various buildings, including the White House and the Capitol. The same night, a vicious storm forced the withdrawal of British troops from the city. The event forced Madison and his wife to escape to Virginia. In an attempt to take Baltimore, British troops bombarded Fort McHenry but was unable to capture it. The spectacle was immortalized in spectator Francis Scott Key's song, "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In December 1814 John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russel, the U.S. negotiating team, concluded the Treaty of Ghent with the British. The treaty did not exchange any lands and did not solve any of the problems that led to war.
In 1815, before news of the Treaty reached America, British troops invaded New Orleans. General Andrew Jackson laid down volley after volley of rifle fire that mowed down the British troops. In the end, 2,000 Britains and only 21 Americans were killed.
The war solved none of the problems that started it. However, because of the years in which the British embargo suspended all trade, domestic industry flourished. America was no longer dependent on foreign trade for its economy. It signaled the first steps from an agrarian nation to an industrial power. Of 286,730 Americans that served, 2,260 were killed and 4,505 were wounded.
New England Federalists opposed to the war gathered at Hartford in December 1814. They attempted to come up with a solution to their problem. Radicals had wanted secession, but they agreed upon amendments that would limit the power of the South. Their proposal was buried after the conclusion of the war and Jackson's victory at New Orleans.
Congress passed and Madison signed the charter for the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. It remained until 1836, when Jackson blocked its renewal.
Madison supported most internal improvements, but only if they benefitted the nation as a whole and not a single state. He held the belief that improvements for just one state were unconstituitional. He suggested an amendment.
Madison died on June 28, 1836. He was offered a treatment that would keep him alive long enough to die on Independence Day, but he declined.
The biggest part of Madison's presidency was the War of 1812. If one just looked at a quick overview, one would think it was an unneccesary conflict that accomplished nothing. The war accomplished little, but it was by no means unneccesary. If Madison had not declared war, it just would have come at a later date. Also, it allowed America to become self-reliant, which was crucial to its growing power in later years.
Overall Ranking: 16
"A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or perhaps both."