8 James Madison
James Madison was one of the most important founding fathers. He wrote the Virginia Plan, which was the foundation for the Constitution, and earned him the nickname “Father of the Constitution”. He also drafted the Bill of Rights and was one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay were the others. Even though other presidents tend to get a ratings upgrade for positive acts outside of office, especially Jefferson and the two Adamses, Madison gets no special consideration from historians. My rankings are based purely on what a president and his subordinates did while he was in office.
During Jefferson’s term in office both Great Britain and France had been harassing American shipping. This searching and seizing of American ship was a cause of the War of 1812. The other main causes of war was that British impressment of American sailors, which was forced service in the British Navy, and the Britain armed and incited Native Americans to attack U.S. citizens. Eventually the British infractions got so bad that Madison was forced to ask Congress for a declaration of war.
The War of 1812 is generally not seen as a successful war, because it ended in a negotiated peace rather than a resounding victory. Militarily the war was a draw, but if you look at war as a means to an end, it was a success. Britain stopped impressing sailors, they stopped seizing American ships and they stopped arming and inciting Indians. Two heroes from the war became president, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison. James Monroe increased his status as a statesman by pulling double duty as Secretary of State and Secretary of War as well. During the war Madison committed no infractions against the citizens rights under the Constitution as has happened many other times during a crisis.
The Hartford Convention was a secret meeting of Federalist politicians appointed by the New England states that met from December of 1814 to January of 1815 in opposition to the war. There were talks of succession and Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong had sent a secret mission to Britain to negotiate a seperate peace. In the end the convention came out with a series of proposed Constitutional Amendments that were unlikely to be adopted. The convention sent a delegation to Washington, but the Treaty of Ghent and news of Andrew Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans had reached Washington by that time. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Antiwar delegation slipped out of the city without presenting its demands.
The Second Barbary Pirates war started due to Britain encouraging the Barbary Pirates to attack American shipping during the War of 1812. Once the war with Britain concluded Congress authorized deployment of naval power against Algiers. A squadron under the command of Stephen Decatur left on May 20th 1815, and by July 3rd the Dey of Algiers was forced to capitulate. After the surrender of Algiers, Decatur went to Tunis and Tripoli and got similar terms, ending the payment of tribute and ransoms to the Barbary Pirates forever.
Madison had been against the First Bank of the United States of America, and when its charter came up in 1811, he let it lapse. During the War of 1812 the government had trouble financing the war. By 1814 Madison had realized the need for a national bank, but it failed to gain support in Congress. After the war economic chaos ensued. The government was having issues paying its debts and some state banks had stopped redeeming their bank notes. The need for a unified, stable paper currency was apparent. After much debate, Madison signed the bill rechartering the Second Bank of the United States of America in April of 1816.
By the end of Madison’s term the Federalist Party was no longer a viable national party. This was due to three main reasons:
- The Sedition Act passed under John Adams, which undermined the First Amendment.
- The Hartford Convention, which made the Federalist look unpatriotic
- Madison had moved the Jeffersonian-Republicans to the center of the political matrix, squeezing the Federalist out
The accomplishment of single party rule should not be underestimated, even though it could not last. Single party rule led to the era of good feeling under James Monroe, that was shattered with the election of 1824.
The Cumberland Road, started in 1811, was the first road built with federal funds. The road originally stretched from Cumberland Maryland to Wheeling West Virginia on the Ohio River and was built to aid settler’s heading west. The road eventually extended to Vandalia Illinois. There was much debate in Congress over the constitutionality of the road. There was also resistance from areas that felt that the road would not benefit their region of the country. The road started the debate on federal funding of internal improvements which was a major point of contention between the political parties during the 19th century.
The Tariff of 1816 was the first tariff designed for the protection of American industry. It was also seen as a way to shore up budget deficit and the federal debt, which had ballooned during the war. The tariff met with wide support, even in the traditionally anti-tariff south, as it was seen as needed for national security. The British had successfully blockaded the United States’ shores, showing the need for domestic manufacturing in times of war. The tariff was passed as a temporary measured for three years and was not renewed when it lapsed in 1820. Thereafter tariffs were another point of contention between the parties until the great depression.
When James Madison left office the country was entering the “Era of Good Feelings” which his administration was largely responsible for creating. He had helped defeat the opposition political party, oversaw two successful wars and helped set up the economy with the Second Bank of the United States of America.