James Madison

C

2

War of 1812

When the long-anticipated war with Britain came, the United States was ill prepared. Madison’s warning to put the nation “into an armour” had not been heeded. The president did not possess the qualities necessary for organizing an effective war machine, and he did not quickly enough find those who did. His attempts to take a personal role in conducting the affairs of the War and Navy departments led only to ridicule.

Madison’s efforts were also hampered by opposition to the war from various quarters. The Federalists had been against war with Britain from the start. Northerners generally showed no enthusiasm for taking over Spanish Florida. Southerners similarly regarded a conquest of Canada as merely adding to the strength of the North. Throughout the war the New England states balked at contributing their financial and military share. Northern opposition resulted in the so-called Hartford Convention, where representatives of the northeastern states seriously discussed a separate peace with Britain.

C

3

Election of 1812

The widespread lack of enthusiasm for the war, combined with early military reverses, made the presidential election of 1812 an especially hard-fought one. Madison was opposed by Governor De Witt Clinton of New York. Clinton, though a Republican, drew his support from the Federalists and from dissident members of Madison’s own party. The war was the primary issue of the campaign. Madison was criticized for carrying on the war and was also condemned for not pursuing it more successfully. He replied by expressing a desire for peace but asking the country’s support in a “just and necessary” war.

V

Second Term as President

Although his support was less than in 1808, Madison was reelected: 128 electoral votes to 89 for Clinton. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts served as Madison’s vice president in his second term.

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A

Progress of the War

Meanwhile the War of 1812, which New England Federalists bitterly called “Mr. Madison’s War,” proceeded. The U.S. Navy fought valiantly in the first year of the war, winning several notable victories. In 1813, however, the superior British navy captured many American ships and prevented those remaining from leaving port.

Until 1814 American land forces had only one victory, led by General Harrison, of Tippecanoe fame. His troops forced the British back into Canada after they had occupied the city of Detroit. Toward the middle of 1814 the American army began to show some competence and won several battles. American troops successfully defended Fort McHenry, outside Baltimore, in September of that year. That battle inspired American lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key to write a poem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which would years later become the national anthem. On January 8, 1815, after the war had officially ended, General Andrew Jackson won a decisive victory over British forces at New Orleans.

During the war, however, the British occupied large areas of the Midwest. They also took the city of Washington and burned the White House. On August 24, 1814, Madison joined his armies retreating from the capital. For four days the president rode about the countryside near Washington, endeavoring to maintain contact with the commanders of his forces. On August 27 he returned to the capital, which had been devastated and abandoned by the British.

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1814, Madison had dispatched Henry Clay, along with statesmen John Quincy Adams and Albert Gallatin, to hold peace talks with the British at Ghent (Gent), Belgium. On his instructions they negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed on December 24, 1814. The primary concession Madison won was surrender by Britain of American territory captured during the war.

“Mr. Madison’s War” did not accomplish its purposes. Impressment of American sailors and the rights of neutral shipping were not discussed in the peace treaty. No new territories were gained. But fighting the war created among the people a new awareness of the United States as a national entity. Madison had convinced the country that the United States could declare war and negotiate peace with another sovereign nation, and that American warriors and ships could hold their own against those of a great power. Madison was widely honored for seeing the nation through this test.

B

Last Years of Madison’s Administration

The final two years of Madison’s presidency were marked by a growing prosperity and a spirit of expansion in the United States. Madison himself appeared to be swept along by the nationalistic feeling of the times. Although he persisted in a strict interpretation of federal powers under the Constitution, he felt it appropriate now to sign into law several pieces of legislation he had vigorously fought against in earlier years. Among these were a bill creating a national bank and a tariff act designed to protect American industries from foreign competition. Thus, at the end of his political career, Madison became reconciled to some of the measures over which he and Hamilton had so strongly differed years before.

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