‘Father of the Constitution’
James Madison
Abby Bilenkin, Nicholas Cooper, Phoebe Lai, Angela Wang
Also known as the face on the $5000 bill (fun fact of the day!)
Life before presidency● Born: March 16, 1751, Port Conway, Virginia● Education: College of New Jersey (now Princeton
University, graduated 1771)● Marriage: September 15, 1794, to Dolley Payne
Todd ● No children (one raised from Dolley’s first
marriage)
Dolley Payne
Early Political Career
Began politics in VA State Legislature in order to reform & help the people
Worked with Madison to draft VA’s Statute of Religious Freedom
1776 1778 1784
VA Convention
VA Council of State
VA House of Delegates
1789→
Responsible for Constitutional Convention
Const. Conv.:● Authored VA Plan● Persuaded VA to give up
their NW territory to Congress
● Drafted Constitution (AKA Father of Constitution)
1787with GW until policies aligned w/ Federalists.
1793 1800→
w/ Jefferson→ Democrat-Republicans
Jefferson President, Madison Secretary of State
● Presidential Terms: 4th President of the United States (1809–1813; 1813-1817)
● Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican● Died: June 28, 1836, Montpelier, Orange County,
Virginia
Presidential Career
Ran with: George Clinton as VP (supported for Jefferson) for the Republicans
Against: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of the Federalist Party with Rufus King as VP
Won with a 122 to 47 electoral vote
1st Election: 1808
George Clinton Charles Pinckney
Issues: Shaky pre-term Foreign Relations
• French vs Brits: US caught in crossfire
• Impressment: British forced/enslaved US merchants to join British navy
• Chesapeake-Leopard Incident (June 22, 1807)o British warship Leopard fired at US frigate Chesapeake, looking for
Brit. Navy deserterso US captain of Chesapeake surrenders & Brits take 4 U.S men
hostage
● UPROAR! Partly responsible for Madison’s decision to declare War of 1812
British warship Leopard fires at US frigate Chesapeake
Shaky Pre-term Foreign Policies
• Jefferson’s Embargo act: prevented U.S ships from trading overseas → economic depressiono Replaced by 1809 Non-Intercourse Act just
before Madison’s term (allowed ships to trade everywhere but France and England)
o Offered to continue trade if Britain & France respected US neutrality...they didn’t.
• Madison’s attempt: Macon’s Bill # 2…(next slide)
1st term Issue (1808): Foreign Trade
• Madison signed Macon’s Bill #2 (1810): removed all France & Brit. trade restrictions as long as they respected neutralityo Looked good on paper; Napoleon claimed to
respect neutrality...but he lied.o Repealed his naval blockade on Britain so he
could use US ships insteado This would end neutrality
● Macon’s Bill #2 didn’t work...and ultimately couldn’t prevent war
Re-election of 1812
● Ran against DeWitt Clinton and Jared Ingersoll
● VP: Elbridge Gerry
● Won with a 128 to 89 electoral vote total, and won all
Southern States
Jared IngersollElbridge Gerry DeWitt Clinton
2nd term issues: War Hawks
• War Hawks = Western congressmen eager for land o demanded US to declare war on GB, expel
Spanish from Florida, invade Canada
• Madison yields to War Hawks - US declares war o Ended in disaster: War Hawk’s quick move
to attack Canada ended in surrender & most NW territory falls to British
• 1814: After defeating Napoleon, Brits go offensiveo Brit ships raided ports from Georgia to Maineo Stopped only in Baltimore: Brits couldn’t blast past Fort
McHenry
• DC captured and burned by Brits in 1814
• Although Madison vowed to rebuild capital, attack was a heavy blow to US
2nd Term Issue - British Offense +Capture of Capital
2nd Term Issue: End of the War of 1812
• Ratification of Treaty of Ghent ended war, brought back pre-war status quo
• Began Era of Good Feelings - less fighting between parties, more patriotism
• Although Americans suffered many losses during war, treaty outcome was relatively favorable for them
Treaty of Ghent
2nd Term Issue: Rechartering Bank of US
• Hamilton’s 1st Bank charter expired in 1811 after 20 years
• As Republican, Madison opposed 1st Bank (creation of national banks not in Bill of Rights)o Felt no need to renew 1st Bank but to recharter (opposed by
conservatives & state bankers)
• No bank = BAD NEWS: US in massive debt after War of 1812
o To deal with debt, private banks issue paper banknotes → major inflation
● 1816: Madison learns he needs one, and recharters the Bank!
● Overall: Madison’s delay of the bank recharter took a long time to solve problems but successfully implement 2nd Bank of US
Wise Words
“Philosophy is common sense with big words”-James Madison
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Works Cited
Kelly, Martin. "James Madison-4th President of the United
States." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
"James Madison." The White House. The White House, n.d.
Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
"Miller Center." American President: James Madison: Domestic Affairs. University of
Virginia, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
"War of 1812." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013
"War of 1812 Evaluation." War of 1812 Evaluation. The National Society United State Daughters, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.