James Madison - 4th President of the United States Documentary

The man known to history as James Madison was born on 16th March 1751 at Belle Grove Plantation near Port Conway, Virginia. His father was James Madison Senior, a tobacco planter and the largest landowner in Piedmont where his first plantation Mount Pleasant was located, his mother was Nelly Conway. Both parents came from families of rich local planters and Madison was very conscious of this privileged status. James Madison Jr., known to the world simply as James Madison, through his birth was d

eeply connected with Virginian colonial politics by a large and very close family that intersected with most of the elite families of Virginia. Madison’s ancestors were relative latecomers to Virginia, arriving in 1653. However, within a few short years the Madisons had become prosperous planters in the Piedmont Region, located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. At age nine Madison’s family moved to a new home called “Montpelier”. Known as “Junior” to those close to him, Madison had

eleven siblings who he was close to throughout his life, despite occasional familial fights. He also grew close with the family of Donald Robertson, his schoolmaster, and future Princeton College professor, John Witherspoon. These two Scottish educators helped Madison develop a deep passion for reading and learning, something that would be a hallmark of Madison’s life. He behaved well around these teachers however Madison was equally as mischievous as the other local boys. This was who Madison w

as: regal and dignified, but mischievous around those who knew him well. He returned home from Princeton in 1772. But a new interest would soon capture his attention. In 1774 Madison noticed the religious persecution of the Baptists of Virginia by the local Anglicans. Madison had no tolerance for it, calling it “that diabolical Hell-conceived principle of persecution.” He fought and argued tirelessly on behalf of the marginalized Baptists to no avail. From this experience, religious freedom beca

me a core principle Madison enthusiastically protected. Though not actively engaged in religion, Madison retained a belief in God throughout his life. Soon after these local religious persecutions, Madison was swept up in larger political issues affecting all the North American British Colonies. For the past decade, tensions had simmered between the colonists in America and the British empire. Many American colonists were perfectly content being a part of the British Empire. However, they believ

ed that they deserved to receive the same rights as their fellow citizens in Great Britain. As British government officials attempted to exert control over the colonies and enforce their status as subjects, tensions grew more heated. Boston, that hot-pot of Yankee unrest, led the charge against the increased pressure from British Leaders. However, unrest and discontent had spread across the North American seaboard from Canada to Georgia. In every colony, people were questioning and debating thei

r place in the Empire. At this point, the thought of leaving the empire was still out of the question. However, soon two parties began to develop that paralleled the major parties in Great Britain, fittingly named the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs emphasized that the rights of Englishmen must be applied to those in the colonies. These rights included representation in parliament by physical representatives who could vote for or against taxation. Americans were not against taxation, but resiste

d British taxes on matter of principle. They believed that they were also equal members of the empire and deserved the same rights passed down through generations of Englishmen. Some Tories, on the other hand, disagreed that it was necessary that they have physical representation, arguing for the idea that by being part of the empire they were “virtually” represented by Parliament. Other Tories agreed with their Whig friends to a degree. They concurred that the British Parliament was wrong to tr

y to govern without American representatives, however they urged more caution and more patience from their fellow Americans. James Madison was very much a Whig. Though a sickly small man, measuring only 5 feet, four inches, he was fervent in his desire to protect his beloved Virginia and the other colonists from tyranny. Many Americans had long worried about the possibility that either Parliament or the King could become too powerful and take away the rights of the people. Whigs in Boston determ

ined to dramatically resist British imperial tyranny. In 1773, revolutionary Bostonians dumped a massive shipment of tea into the harbor in protest. This “Boston Tea Party” was lauded by patriots, but infuriated British ministers. Seeing danger in Boston and wanting to make an example out of those rebels, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws aimed at forcing Boston--and all colonists--to shape up and submit to the British crown. Rather than subduing the colonists, the laws in

stead promoted anger and panic across the colonies. For many, the harshness of the acts confirmed their fears that the British government did not care at all about their rights. Madison became much more engaged with the Whigs, now known as the Patriots, and began to protest the actions of the British parliament. 1775 brought the first battles of the American Revolution when Patriot forces around Boston confronted British soldiers as they were attempting to take Patriot ammunition stores. These n

ow historic battles of Lexington and Concord ignited unrest across the entire British North American colonies. James Madison quickly voiced his support and became more deeply anti-British as he read about numerous attacks on the Americans. By 1776 Madison and other Virginians had had enough of the empire. They organized themselves to work towards independence. Then, on the 15th of May the Virginia convention, a shadow government operating in Williamsburg, voted to ask the Continental Congress to

vote for independence. Madison, a member of the convention, was appointed to draft Virginia’s Declaration of Rights. Madison partnered with George Mason, a fifty-year-old delegate renowned for his gruffness, to draft the document. Madison helped craft an amendment that stated all men were entitled to worship as they wished. Only a few years removed from the persecution of the Baptists, Madison did not want his new state to be able to persecute and harm religious minorities. After several revisi

ons, the amendment was added, a huge success in the previously Anglican dominated colony. However, Madison lost the local election of 1777. Locals wanted a leader who was more friendly and personable, particularly one who would supply free alcohol at rallies. Madison believed in a more dignified approach to elections, and felt that resorting to bribery was immoral. He refused to buy rounds of beer for the local men, which cost him his seat but Madison’s writing and negotiating skills had made hi

m popular among Virginian elites and soon he was back in Virginia’s capital on the Governor's Council, then two years after that in 1779, he was elected to the Continental Congress. In Congress, Madison came into contact with the best and brightest from across all thirteen new states. These friendships and connections that he formed during the years of the American Revolution would be critical to his development as a politician and as a negotiator. One of the friends he gained during these years

was the fiery young Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and one of Virginia’s leading statesmen. Politics and nation building were not the only things on Madison’s mind during his tenure as a Congressman. While in Philadelphia in 1783, Madison “fell in love with Catherine (Kitty) Floyd, the daughter of a New York congressman.” She was nearly sixteen years old, but such a courtship was not a rarity in those days. Madison saw things progressing wonderfully until in Jul

y Floyd broke off their courtship to marry a medical student. Madison was devastated and wrote to his friend Thomas Jefferson mourning the loss of his love. Jefferson, recently having lost his own wife, was sympathetic and sought to comfort his friend. . With his love life in turmoil, Madison continued to devote himself to his country. While Madison threw himself into supporting the new government, he quickly learned of many of its shortcomings. Governance during the war had been problematic, th

e new nation constantly plagued by lack of funds and an inability to tax. America won its independence in 1783, but there was still a lot of work to do. The Articles of Confederation, a document joining together the 13 independent states into a confederation of states, attempted to govern the new nation. However, Madison and others couldn’t help but see how ineffective it was. The document made the central government exceptionally weak in an effort to prevent tyranny, or rather, a repetition of

the events prior to the colonies leaving Great Britain. The largest problem was that Congress had very little power to do anything, especially to raise taxes. For a young nation entering the world stage in a world full of powerful empires, a weak, decentralized government did not seem to be the way to maintain the liberty of the new nation. This is perhaps why Madison formed a working friendship with a bright young lawyer named Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton (now famous because of Lin Manuel Miran

da’s broadway musical Hamilton), a young man like Madison and one of the sharpest minds in US Congressional circles teamed up with Madison to solve various problems plaguing Congress. However, even as they worked together, the two young men butted heads as they looked to solve problems differently. Hamilton favored a strong central government, while Madison looked to make incremental changes over time. Madison was a deal maker, Hamilton a brilliant firebrand. These early experiences between the

two men would cement decades of occasional cooperation and rivalry between the little Virginian and the immigrant New Yorker. Congress struggled to survive under the Articles of Confederation from 1783 to 1787. The government’s control of the country was tenuous and never certain. Inflation crippled the once thriving economy, leaving many families struggling and resentful. Former soldiers demanded their payment for their services in the army, and Congress, broke as usual, was forced to issue IOU

s, which only infuriated the soldiers more. For many, it seemed as if the nation was on the brink of collapse. James Madison worried about the future of the nation and how he could help it survive. As he wondered, he sought to make the best of an increasingly dreary predicament by serving again and again in public office. James Madison’s first term as a Congressman ended in 1784, following which Madison went to work in the lower house of Virginia’s legislature. While there, he maintained contact

s with friends in Congress and abroad and continued to fight for religious liberty in the state of Virginia by removing taxes designed to support religious institutions. He worked alongside George Washington to develop a canal across the Appalachian Mountains along the Potomac River and served as a ghostwriter for Washington for drafting specific proposals during the process, as well as this, Madison also continued to work with Hamilton in an effort to strengthen the weak United States. For thes

e young statesmen, the United States was ungovernable and risked being broken apart and reabsorbed by larger European Empires. While many modern viewers may think that the United States growth was inevitable, nothing could be further from the truth. With each small crisis, the young United States seemed ready to implode. Madison wanted to change that. The question in his and other leaders’ minds was how. Madison took great effort to study and prepare himself for future debates. He studied histor

y books sent to him by Thomas Jefferson, who was then residing in Paris. Madison pondered on the example of past “confederacies” or loose unions. He became increasingly convinced that in order to survive, the nation needed a stronger central government that could manage the quarrelsome states but by 1786, tensions in the United States were reaching breaking point. Talk of the union splitting apart was rampant throughout the nation. Mob violence, such as Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts, put eve

ryone on edge. Madison was one of the key organizers for the Constitutional Convention and put much of his energy into recruiting the national hero, General George Washington, to come. Madison arrived in Philadelphia on the 14th of May, but the convention was delayed until the 25th when the rest of the delegates arrived. Madison came thoroughly prepared for the Constitutional Convention with a plan for Government structure that became known as the “Virginia Plan.” Madison argued that the Confede

ration should be scrapped and be replaced by a government that included a “two house legislature, an executive, and a judiciary.” The plan also highlighted the problems with too much state power, transferring it instead to the national government. Some delegates began to fear that the new government would underrepresent or even abolish state governments, and the Virginia plan was hotly contested, especially by delegates from small states. For six weeks delegates argued with each other in what is

now known as Independence Hall. They were well aware of the gravity of their situation, knowing that they were seeking to recreate the government of the United States. As different plans were proposed and debated, the delegates worked slowly towards a consensus. Madison wanted to create a nation, not just a confederacy of states. He continued to argue that the people were the source of government, not the state governments themselves, but concessions had to be made. Madison was deflated that hi

s plan had been mangled and melded with plans still favoring small states, but his Virginia plan was still very influential in the final result. By September, the convention adjourned and sent the new United States constitution to the states to be ratified. While none of the delegates were perfectly happy with the final result, they believed that it was far better than the Articles of Confederation. After the convention, Madison was tasked with a new objective: To defend the Constitution so that

it would be accepted by the people of the thirteen states. After four months, five states--Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut--accepted the new document. However, the largest states like Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York were not on board yet. Fierce debates erupted across the country as a loose coalition of anti-Constitutionalists, known as the Anti-Federalists, went to work attacking the document and trying to prevent ratification. Madison soon joined a literary

debate happening in America’s newspapers between Hamilton and Robert Yates, a New York Anti-Federalist. These debates, which soon expanded beyond Hamilton and Yates, came to be known as the Federalist Papers. These documents clearly and persuasively outlined the logic of the new constitutional government. Written mostly by Hamilton and Madison, the Federalist Papers have become a standard document in the study of the formation of the United States Constitution. For Madison, this new occupation a

s a journal writer was difficult. Week after week of intense writing stressed the young statesman. The writings may have helped the debates shaping New York, but soon Madison was on his way to Virginia to help keep the Constitution alive. In Virginia the opposition was led by the legendary Patrick Henry and other leaders of the American Revolution. Madison noted that many people desired a Bill of Rights, something that they saw as essential to the liberty of Americans. In 1788 Madison went to Vi

rginia’s ratification convention where he debated relentlessly for the National Constitution. Although he was not a great orator, he went toe to toe with Patrick Henry and won over many by promising to bring up a bill of rights as amendments. On the 25th of June, the U.S. Constitution was ratified in Virginia with a vote of 89 to 79. After all the stress of the convention, Madison had yet another task, winning a seat in the new congress so he could deliver on his promises and help guide the new

government. Patrick Henry made sure that Madison was unable to be appointed as a senator. As Madison ran for the House of Representatives, Henry again attempted to keep Madison out of the new government. Running against a former friend, James Monroe, Madison emphasized his support for amendments to make a bill of rights. He won by several hundred votes, thus guaranteeing him a spot in the new United States government. George Washington took the oath of office in New York City on the 30th of Apri

l, 1789, using an address that he had crafted with Madison’s help. The new government appeared to be working. As he served in Congress, Madison was not flamboyant or impressive when it came to delivering speeches. He preferred to work behind the scenes accomplishing the dirty work of forming a new nation. Madison was a member of the Continental Congress from 1789 to 1792, the most influential formative years of the new republic. Madison learned much about how to create compromises during this pe

riod. One instance involved preserving Benjamin Franklin’s job as America’s chief diplomat and binding America closer to France. He did, however, make enemies. He didn’t get along well with John Adams, the man who had helped spur America towards independence and served as president from 1797 to 1801. The two became bitter enemies and avoided one another. During the early months of working as a Congressional delegate, Madison worked hard to get a bill of rights into the Constitution. Madison beli

eved that these rights were natural rights, or stemmed from nature and God. These natural rights were enshrined in English tradition and he felt they ought to be protected by the American government. Some of Madison’s proposed amendments failed to garner sufficient support, however the following ten did. First, he proposed the right to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Second, the right to keep and bear arms. Third, the right to prevent the government from using citizens

' homes as barracks for soldiers. Fourth, a ban on unreasonable search and seizure. Fifth, protections for people accused of crimes: forbidding double jeopardy (or being charged twice for the same offense) and seizing property without just compensation; the right to refuse to self-incriminate; the right to jury; and the right to due process (or fait procedures). Sixth, the right of the accused to have a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. Seventh, the right to a jury trial in federal c

ivil cases. Eighth, a ban on excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment. Nineth, an acknowledgement of unenumerated rights, or additional rights that haven’t been explicitly listed. And tenth, a statement that rights not listed in the constitution are under the direction of the states and the people. These rights have since become an indispensable hallmark of U.S. law and a model for free governments around the world. Without Madison, the Bill of Rights and the freedoms that it pr

otects may never have existed. One author has since stated, “If [Madison] was not quite the Father of the Constitution - success has a thousand fathers - he was its midwife.” Following these successes, Madison was considered one of the leaders of the US House of Representatives. His friends like Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson were leading figures in the fledgling government and the transition away from the articles of confederation was working. However, not everything ran smoothly among lea

ding statesmen. As Hamilton unveiled his plans to fix the national debt, Madison shifted from ally to enemy. He proposed legislation different to Hamilton’s and argued against accepting Hamilton’s ideas. At the same time, a crisis was brewing in Congress over where to place the nation’s capital. According to Thomas Jefferson, he arranged a meeting between Madison and Hamilton, where a bargain was struck that allowed the nation’s capital to be moved to its present site at Washington D.C., while H

amilton’s plan was allowed to pass through Congress without attacks from Madison. This solved the immediate issue at hand but did not end Madison’s feud with his former collaborator, Alexander Hamilton. The next major fight between these two political leaders was over the national bank. Hamilton sought to transform the American Republic to be more stable and be a place where international creditors could invest their surplus resources. Hamilton wanted the United States to be a republic. He was n

ot interested in transforming the nation into a monarchy. Neither was he a democrat. He believed that most people were not educated enough or selfless enough to be in charge of government. Hamilton wanted to mimic what leaders in the British Empire had done decades earlier by tying the prosperity of the wealthiest men to the prosperity of the government, thereby theoretically benefiting the masses. Madison disagreed, believing like Jefferson that the power of the republic could be spread to the

yeoman farmer, the independent man and not just the elites. He believed that the idea for the First National Bank of the United States was unconstitutional. His protests were in vain however because in February of 1791 Congress passed the bank bill and Washington, after listening to both Madison and Hamilton, signed the bill, much to Jefferson’s and Madison’s consternation. Madison became increasingly disenchanted with the Washington Administration, especially Washington’s handling of the French

Revolution. Madison and Jefferson were francophiles, or people who loved France. Though not as extreme as Jefferson in his hatred for the British, Madison was upset by Washington’s seeming support for the British in the wars of the French Revolution. Madison supported the radicalness of the Revolution and Jefferson’s attacks on John Adams, who had begun writing in support of hereditary government. Soon Madison’s and Jefferson’s attacks on leading government men such as Hamilton, Adams, and even

Washington drove national politics towards a bitter divide. Across the nation camps began to form nominally known as Federalists and Republicans, today known as Democratic-Republicans or Jeffersonian Republicans. Madison refused to believe that he was introducing parties into the American system. He claimed his opponents had done it already. However, Madison’s attacks did more to spur the creation of the party system than anything John Adams had done. His decisions to focus on the creation of a

party focused on the lower and middle class granted him and Thomas Jefferson success over the next two decades. Washington attempted to stop the fights between the people in his cabinet. It was a losing battle. Madison and Jefferson attempted to oust Vice-President John Adams during the election of 1792, further angering the Federalists. Meanwhile in France, the events of the French Revolution had deteriorated to mob control and mass executions. The guillotine killed thousands of people, while

thousands more died in battles with the British and Prussians. Many Americans had initially supported the French Revolution, until it turned sadistic and violent and while some Americans reversed their stance on the French Revolution, others hardened in their conviction that the citizens of France were right. Madison was one of these men. He accepted honorary French citizenship and became a staunch defender of the French Revolution. When Washington declared American neutrality, Madison went to w

ork seeking to undermine the President’s position. When Madison’s supporters began directing attacks at George Washington, the tides began to turn against him. Already many Americans were nervous as French Revolutionaries abandoned Christianity and continued the purges of France’s “enemies.” Attacking the Father of the Country was one step too far. Madison and Jefferson, feeling the wrath of Americans, beat a hasty retreat, again supporting Washington publicly. However, the damage had already be

en done. Over the next few years Madison continued to work with Thomas Jefferson to help their party regain support. However, in 1794, Madison had more pressing matters than national politics on his mind. In Philadelphia, the nation's capital, James Madison at age forty-three met Dolley Payne Todd. Dolley was a widow, her husband having died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. Madison was introduced to Todd by one of his political allies, Aaron Burr. Madison was quickly smitten with the beauti

ful woman. Many of Madison’s friends, including George Washington, showed excitement over the possible match. By August of 1794 Madison had won the heart of Dolley and the two were married on the 15th of September, 1794. Dolley was happy and affectionate. An outgoing and flirty woman, Dolley loved the world into which James Madison brought her. Prior to her marriage she had been a Quaker, but quickly adapted to the gaiety of Philadelphia and later Virginian high life. The two would add a wing on

to Madison’s plantation Montpelier, which some today suggest looks like the combination of a Virginia plantation manor and a Philadelphia townhome. She would remain a devoted and faithful companion to the shy and quiet statesman throughout his life. As Madison adapted to his role as a husband and father, Dolley had one child from her previous marriage, he also began to clash with his former idol, George Washington more frequently. His first clash was over Jay’s Treaty, a secret treaty signed by

American diplomat John Jay with the British in November of 1794. The Treaty was quickly signed by both the Senate and Washington, in part because they knew the treaty would be extremely unpopular. The treaty secured some victories for the Americans and helped ease tensions with Great Britain. But, for many, the treaty did little but embarrass the nation. Initial resentment from the public began to shift however as Hamilton launched a brilliant PR campaign supporting Jay’s treaty. Madison and Je

fferson were furious. When Madison’s allies in the House attempted to confront Washington about the treaty, Washington dismissed their efforts. Now Madison felt he had to fight his friend. The results were not pretty. Washington ceased all interactions with his former friend. At sixty-four years old, Washington was unwilling to deal with those he viewed as backstabbers. Madison, unhappy at the results, was further saddened when his efforts to defund the treaty, or keep funds from making the trea

ty possible, failed. Madison’s seven years in Congress had worn out the Virginian and he was ready for a break. In 1796 Madison retired from Congress and headed back to his plantation in Virginia. His former friend, George Washington, also retired. In his farewell address Washington took some parting shots at Madison and his colleagues reminding Americans to avoid party politics and not become attached too much to foreign nations. However, the country was engulfed in its first contested presiden

tial election. Adams and Jefferson faced off, with John Adams coming out the victor. James Madison had tried to help Jefferson obtain the victory. Now, Jefferson was to be Adam’s vice president. The two old friends, now enemies, were once again together. Madison encouraged the enmity, stoking the party politics as much as he could. He also refused to act as a minister to France, seeing an opportunity to allow the Federalist party to sink itself. He wanted to watch their party collapse as much as

any other Jeffersonian Republican. He would be content himself to stay in Virginia and take care of personal matters. Over the next few years, Madison continued to worry about the Federalists. Madison believed that his political enemies would doom the country and destroy everything the American Revolution had stood for. He saw evidence in the hostilities between France and the United States, as well as the passage of the Alien and Sedition Act, a law that targeted radical democratic elements in

the United States. Madison and Jefferson both began to plan to combat the Federalist attempts to control the press and suppress their party’s more radical supporters and so they launched an offensive called the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. Penned secretly by Madison (written for Virginia) and Jefferson (who wrote for the legislature in Kentucky), these resolutions were to act as a rallying cry for the nation. The call of these resolutions was for the states to declare the Alien and Sediti

on Acts unconstitutional. Madison was far more succinct and less fiery than Jefferson in his writing, but the point was made. The nation was on the edge of collapse. The nation’s response was overwhelmingly negative, condemning the resolutions and their authors for threatening the American Republic. However, Federalist infighting left an opening for Madison and Jefferson. And they took it. Madison re-entered politics in 1799 by running and winning a seat in the Virginia Assembly. From his seat i

n the Virginia legislature Madison continued to defend the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, while helping situate Jefferson for victory in the upcoming presidential election of 1800. The election was close, but Jefferson narrowly won. In 1801 Madison traveled to the nation’s new capital in Washington D.C. and began his service as secretary of state. Madison enjoyed a close relationship with Jefferson and was his primary advisor during his presidency. With the Jeffersonian Republicans in power,

much of the opposition to Madison came from within his own party, particularly those who felt wronged by Jefferson’s right-hand man. Some were men who had sought patronage appointments, only to be turned away. Others were radicals, who felt Madison was too conservative for the party. Madison did little to fight back against their verbal attacks. He was too focused on outside matters to be terribly concerned with intraparty fighting. France and Britain were still at war, but with the Jeffersonia

ns in power, American policy flipped to now favor the French. Under Napoleon however France had emerged as a military superpower and had wrested control of Louisiana Territory from the Spanish. Madison went to work to convince the French the best option for them was to help the United States gain control of Florida and sell the Americans New Orleans. Napoleon was uninterested in listening. However, the disaster of Napoleon’s invasion of Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti, ended French efforts to

reassert control in the New World. This led to a remarkable change of fortunes when the French sold the Americans the Louisiana Territory, a massive expanse of territory doubling the United States size. For Madison, this was a perfect outcome and one which he believed would greatly impact future generations. At the start of Jefferson’s second term Madison focused much of his efforts on securing the Louisiana Purchase and acquiring Florida from Spain. Spain proved to be resistant to American thr

eats and offers and was determined to hold on to their colony. However, far more threatening to the Jeffersonian administration was the British Empire, which was engaged in a war with France. In 1805 British officials began attacking American merchantmen to stop trade with France. Madison was frustrated by the British policy and attacked it with pamphlets and threats but the situation took a drastic turn for the worse when Napoleon and the British began a trade war and forbade the United States

from trading with each other by 1807. America was powerless in the face of the great powers because it had only a small navy and both Madison and Jefferson refused to get involved in a war. Instead, they decided to impose an embargo of Americans trading with France or Britain. Madison defended the policy, which crippled the American economy with little repercussions for either Britain or France. While Jefferson retreated from the drop in popularity following the passage of the embargo, Madison d

oubled down on his position. He was determined to give no ground. However, the embargo sowed deep and bitter seeds throughout the nation, particularly in New England. In 1808 Madison began working to secure the nomination for the Democratic Republican ticket to contest the up-and-coming presidential election and replace Jefferson as president of the United States. Madison’s successes and his closeness with Jefferson proved to be a significant boon to his prospects. His chief party opponent, fell

ow Virginian James Monroe, was unable to secure enough major political allies to mount a successful campaign against his former friend and after the Federalists’ nominees performed terribly, Madison swept to victory and became the fourth President of the United States of America after taking the oath of office on the 4th of March 1809, with George Clinton becoming his vice President. However, despite his victory, Madison found a strong opposition within his own party and among the Federalists. T

hese two groups helped vote down the hated embargo, ending one of Jefferson and Madison’s key attacks on the British. With the embargo a failure, Madison was now facing a world with two hostile and belligerent world powers, France and Great Britain, and as well as this, Madison’s life in Washington was far from peaceful. While his wife Dolley set out to create a vibrant and glamorous environment in the nation’s eight-year-old capital in Washington D.C, Madison’s enemies made his life difficult b

y constantly opposing him and fighting his decisions. While Madison faced enemies in Congress, he did achieve a significant victory when his administration annexed the western half of Spanish Florida. Florida had long been a prize Madison wanted to seize, and after American settlers moved there, Madison ordered an army to enter the territory, proving to his critics that he could act decisively in favor of the United States. This victory was tempered by the increasing hostility of Great Britain a

nd their refusal to cooperate with the United States decision to remain neutral. British officials sent to the United States further antagonized relations between the two states, leading many Americans to become more hostile to the British. Madison continued to hope that an embargo would produce the correct effects, however most Americans were tired with fruitless economic sanctions that achieved little of the desired effect. In 1811 Madison reorganized his cabinet and brought in his former frie

nd, once enemy, but now friend again, James Monroe. Monroe was seen as the perfect Viriginian to succeed Madison and Madison knew it. He also relieved various officials that he had come to dislike. Madison wanted a stronger cabinet, one that would help him fulfill his plans for the American Republic. This was desperately needed as Madison’s party was beginning to fracture as new, younger Jeffersonian Republicans entered the national stage. Men like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun made their mark

on the new Congress in the fall of 1811. These young senators and representatives saw in themselves the future of the new nation. While they respected the founders, such as Madison, they also saw them as holding back the nation from its true potential and glory. Meanwhile, in New England, Federalists were becoming increasingly disaffected with the administration. While still supportive of the United States, they were frustrated by the Madison administration's policies towards Great Britain, who

they saw as a bulwark against Napoleonic France. Another challenge Madison faced was reigning in his own party, who had become increasingly hawkish on Great Britain. Britain, long antagonistic towards the Jeffersonian Republicans, had ignored all calls for negotiations. Furthermore, Native American wars on the frontiers of the American Republic were spurred on by British agents, who provided encouragement to the tribes resisting the conquest of their homelands by American forces. On the 1st of J

une, 1812, Madison sent a war message to Congress. After two and a half weeks of debate both Houses of Congress voted to go to war. Every Federalist voted no, but the Jeffersonian Republicans had the upper hand. Madison however, presided over a dilapidated and pathetic army and navy. The Jeffersonian Republicans over the past decade had reduced the army and navy to mere shadows of their former selves. Declaring war on the strongest nation in Europe was bold and ambitious, if not a bit fool-hardy

. However, the Americans were committed (at least the Jeffersonian Republicans) and no power on earth was going to stop them. Perhaps Madison believed that Britain would not commit many resources to the conflict. France had recently invaded Russia and Britain’s army was bogged down in Spain and Portugal. Madison even offered peace terms soon after the declaration of war. American forces soon were marching on Canada, which resulted in an absolute disaster. Unfortunate timing, inept commanders, an

d logistical challenges, not to mention the poor quality of the soldiers, led to stinging defeats for the Americans. The only positives came from the successes of the U.S. navy, which continued to defy the odds and win battles against British ships and as the war dragged on, Madison was re-elected but only through the support of the Pennsylvania Jeffersonian Republicans. If not for their support, Madison would have lost the race. However, with his election secured, Madison continued to try to so

lve the problems of the US military. While he had some success, the war was quickly breaking the fragile unity of the young nation. New Englanders hated the war and Federalists were beginning to contemplate a complete separation from the South. Then in late 1812, the war took a decidedly worse turn for the Americans when Napoleon’s invasion of Russia completely failed. With France now weakened, the British turned more of their attention to the war in America. Then in 1813 Madison was hit by a bi

lious fever. The fever threatened his life and Madison was left bedridden for weeks. Critics and friends alike wondered if it was the end of the small Virginian. However, in August of 1813, Madison gradually began to recover. 1813 also brought some small victories on the Great Lakes for the Americans, the most famous being the victory on Lake Erie by Captain Oliver Perry. Several victories were also achieved by American generals against Native American forces. These victories would pave the way

for settler expansion into Native American lands following the war. While Madison celebrated these victories, he was also desperately seeking to end the war, in part because Madison understood that Britain was stronger and better equipped than his American army. In 1814, Madison sent five men, including John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, to negotiate a treaty between Great Britain and the United States. When Napoleon abdicated in the spring of 1814, the British officials sent more troops to North

America to crush the Americans. However, two years of war had hardened up the American troops, and along the Canadian frontier a stalemate kept either side from achieving a significant victory and any successes were offset by a devastating attack launched by the British on the Chesapeake Bay area. Madison had attempted to prepare for an assault, however his poor choice in commanders, specifically William Winder, led to disastrous results when on the 19th of August, 1814, British troops landed a

t Benedict, Maryland, only 35 miles south of Washington D.C. and Madison’s cabinet collapsed. Some felt Baltimore would be the logical next target. James Monroe began acting as a scout and Madison rode out to the troops eight miles south of the capital and encouraged them on. Unlike in previous years where the American militia had stalled British advances, the British marched leisurely towards Washington D.C. After a short battle, later entitled the Bladensburg Races due to the flight of the Ame

rican forces, the British marched into the capital. Retaliating for the American burning of York in Canada, now known as Toronto, the British burned the capitol building and the White House. Madison and his family had safely evacuated, but now the capital was in ruins and the British triumphant, seemingly poised to destroy the much larger and economically more important city of Baltimore. In September, the British moved against Baltimore, only to be repelled at Fort McHenry. It was a victory, bu

t it rang hollow as the smolders of Washington burned. Madison found in the fall a very deflated and frustrated Congress. The war was going poorly and Madison’s allies were doing little to make it any more popular. James Monroe advocated for a draft, something that was deeply unpopular in all regions of the country. In December, 1814, New England Federalists gathered in Hartford, Connecticut and discussed seceding from the United States. Though not taking that drastic step, the Federalists threa

tened to secede if their demands were not met. They petitioned for several constitutional amendments seeking to curtail the power of the Jeffersonian Republicans. Madison, who had advocated similar ideas in the 1790s when protesting Federalist power, was furious. However, Madison was saved by the fortuitous success of General Andrew Jackson, who decidedly outwitted the British in the small town of New Orleans. The battle swung American public opinion in favor of Madison, who learned of it around

the same time that he received the Treaty of Ghent, a truce between the British and the Americans. With the war at an end, Madison was able to ignore the Federalists and rejoice with the rest of the nation. Observers stated that Madison was giddy and the life of the party following the end of the war. The rest of his two years in office were spent fortifying his legacy and preparing the nation for the next Virginian president, James Monroe. He saw his term as a success and was pleased with the

turn of events following the war. For Madison, he believed that national honor had been saved and that the peace was a victory for the young nation. Madison looked to the future with optimism and hope, believing that the United States was on the brink of great success. Following his retirement from party politics, Madison returned to his plantation Montpelier. Madison, as one of the last of the Founding generation, was an American icon. Visitors flocked to his home to see the former president. M

adison was the last of the framers of the Constitution and America, drifting towards the sectional conflicts of the Civil War, looked to him. Though not involved in national politics, he continued to give advice. He argued continually for the idea of American union, something he saw as essential in order to preserve American liberty. He was terrified that soon the nation would devolve into war and break asunder, never to achieve its destined greatness but while he remained an icon, he did experi

ence troubles in perpetuating his farm, as prices dived and Virginian land lost value. Family problems also ate away at Madison’s fortunes, leaving the man barely staving off bankruptcy. These financial troubles did not deter Madison from working on various projects including writing opinions on Supreme Court rulings and supporting the establishment of the University of Virginia. He also supported the American Colonization Society, a group established to emigrate free and enslaved African Americ

ans back to Africa. Madison himself never mustered the courage to free his enslaved people. He hid from what he knew to be wrong. Madison’s last hours were recorded by Paul Jennings, one of the men enslaved by James Madison. Jennings recalled the death of his enslaver several decades later. His recounting is surprisingly not angry or full of malice, just a simple recollection of what he saw the day that the Father of the United States Constitution died. It was the 26th of June, 1838, only twenty

-three years before the start of the American Civil War. Madison had been in his bed for nearly six months, unable to walk. On the morning of his death, he had trouble eating and his niece asked, “What is the matter, Uncle James?” Madison simply said, ‘Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.” Jennings stated, “His head instantly dropped, and he ceased breathing as quietly as the snuff of a candle goes out.” In the days following, Madison was taken to the grave, followed by an “immense proce

ssion” of both white and black Americans, to bury the small man from Montpelier, Virginia in the graveyard. Madison was an American Founding Father and one of the primary authors of the United States Constitution. He was a man whose life was tied closely to the formation and growth of a new United States and helped shape the United States on its course to become a global superpower. His death occasioned much sorrow in the United States. The last of the Founders, Madison had truly made his mark o

n the United States. His decision making had been key in state and national constitutional conventions. His dedication to liberty and the freedom of white Americans laid a precedent for future generations. While he struggled to envision a future where whites and blacks could live together in peace, his greatest work the U.S. Constitution, was used by some abolitionists to justify the end of slavery. Madison, the short Virginian, lived a life emersed in politics and the creation of a new nation.

His friends and enemies numbered amongst some of the most famous of America’s founding generation and his meticulous record keeping allows historians today a glimpse into the past world of the Founding Fathers. Madison made his mark and his mark has lasted until the present, the United States constitution being a model for many other nations. Often overshadowed by others figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or his old adversary John Adams, Madison has remained one of the most pro

minent founders of the United States of America. What do you think of James Madison? Does he deserve his reputation as a hero of the early American Republic or was he a political operator bent on preserving his own class and status as a slaveholder? Please let us know in the comment section, and, in the meantime, thank you very much for watching