James Madison
James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway Virginia. He was later appointed Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state in 1801, and later became the fourth president of the United States. He served in the Continental Congress and was a leader in the Virginia Assembly. He was president from 1809 to 1817 and he married Dolley Madison in 1794.
The Election of 1808
In 1808, James Madison received 70% of the electoral votes, 122 votes for him, while one of his opponents received 27% of the votes, from 47 electoral votes. This was for Charles Pinckney, the other candidate, George Clinton, recieved 6 electoral votes, giving him 3% of the votes. James Madison won and his vice president was George Clinton, who later died in office. His second vice president was Elbridge Gerry.
The Election of 1812
In the election of 1812, James Madison was the incumbent, which means that he was trying to stay in office for another presidential term. His opponent in this election was Dewitt Clinton, George Clinton's nephew. Dewitt Clinton got 89 electoral votes, but James Madison got 128, and was reelected for another 4 years as president.
James Madison in Congress
James Madison played a big part in creating the Bill of Rights. His disagreements with Alexander Hamilton helped in founding the Jeffersonian Party. James Madison opposed getting involved in the French revolution when he was the secretary of state under Jefferson. During Madison's first year as president, he banned trade with both Britain and France to show their neutrality, and they did not trade with these countries until the next year, 1810.
The War of 1812
British impressment of american sailors and seizing of cargo pushed James Madison to ask congress to declare war on the British, starting the war of 1812. They were not prepared to fight though and the British burned the capitol and the white house. Later in the war, the U.S. had many great naval victories, and people were proud of Andrew Jackson's attack on New Orleans near the end of the war. This spread nationalism throughout the country.
The Federalist
James Madison helped in writing The Federalist Papers. Which were a collection of articles posted in the New York newspapers. There were 85 essays used to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the constitution, telling the great things about it and how it would not give the government too much power. Alexander Hamilton and John Jay also helped write these, and these articles convinced many people that the constitution was a good thing, and it eventually got ratified.
Madison's Presidency
During James Madison's presidency, he helped improve canals, bridges and roads. Louisiana and Indiana also became a states during James Madison's presidency and the Missouri and Alabama territories was organized. In 1816, the first savings banks were opened in Philadelphia and Boston.
The Death of James Madison
James Madison retired to his estate in Orange county, Virginia, and he died June 28, 1836 in Montpelier.