In 1808, Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state, James Madison, was elected president of the United States. His term was dominated by increasing tensions with Britain that eventually contributed to the War of 1812 on the year of his reelection.
Madison's American Indian Policy
Upon assuming office on March 4, 1809, James Madison, in his first Inaugural Address to the nation, stated that the federal government's duty was to convert the American Indians by the, "participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state." Like his predecessor Jefferson, Madison had a paternalistic and discriminatory attitude toward American Indians, encouraging the men to give up hunting and become farmers. Although there are scant details, Madison often met with Southeastern and Western American Indians, including the Creek and Osage.
As European settlers moved west, they encroached on large tracts of Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, and Chickasaw territory. Madison ordered the U.S. Army to protect some of the American Indian lands from intrusion by settlers, much to the chagrin of his military commander, Andrew Jackson, who resisted carrying out the president's order. In the Northwest Territory after the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, American Indians were pushed off of their tribal lands and replaced entirely by white settlers. By 1815, there were 400,000 European-American settlers in Ohio, and the American Indians' rights to their lands had effectively become null and void.
Economic Policies
Economically, Madison sought to continue Jefferson's agenda—in particular the dismantling of the system left behind by the Federalists under presidents Washington and Adams. One of the most pressing issues Madison confronted was the first Bank of the United States. Its twenty-year charter was scheduled to expire in 1811, and while Madison's secretary of the treasury said that the bank was a necessity, Congress failed to re-authorize it. After the outbreak of the War of 1812, the absence of a national bank made war with Britain very difficult to finance, and in 1814, Congress passed a bill chartering a second national bank. Madison vetoed this bill, and in 1816, Congress passed another bill for the same purpose. By this time, Madison had learned that such a bank, despite its Federalist origins, was necessary for financing war, and he signed the bill to establish a new national bank.
Madison also implemented an effective taxation system based on tariffs, a standing professional military, and the internal improvements championed by Henry Clay under his American System. However, in his last act before leaving office, Madison vetoed the Bonus Bill of 1817, which would have financed more internal improvements, including roads, bridges, and canals.
James Madison
An engraving of James Madison by David Edwin from between 1809 and 1817.
The War of 1812
The United States entered the War of 1812 due to increased aggression by the British Navy on the open seas. At the time, Britain used its navy to prevent American ships from trading with France—an act the United States considered a violation of international law. The British Royal Navy boarded American ships on the high seas and impressed their seamen, forcing them to serve on the Royal Navy's ships. The United States looked upon this as an affront to American sovereignty no different than if the British had invaded American soil. Britain also armed American Indian tribes in the Northwest Territory and encouraged them to attack American settlers, even though Britain had ceded this territory to the United States in the treaties of 1783 and 1794.
War of 1812
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeats British Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Painting by William Henry Powell, 1873.
Opposition to the War
Madison called on Congress to put the country, "into an armor and an attitude demanded by the crisis": He specifically recommended enlarging the army, preparing the militia, finishing the military academy, stockpiling munitions, and expanding the navy. Madison faced formidable obstacles, however—a divided cabinet, a factious party, a recalcitrant Congress, obstructionist governors, and incompetent generals, together with militia who refused to fight outside of their states. Most serious was the lack of unified popular support. There were serious threats of disunion from New England, which engaged in extensive smuggling with Canada and refused to provide financial support or soldiers for the purposes of war.
The problems were exacerbated by Jefferson's and Madison's dismantling of the systems put in place by Hamilton and the Federalists: They had reduced the military, closed the First National Bank, and narrowed the tax system. They distrusted standing armies and banks, and the dismantling of the Federalist taxation system meant they could not finance the quick hiring of mercenaries. By the time the war began, Madison's military force consisted mostly of poorly trained militia members. The war went very badly for the United States at first, and it was especially unpopular in New England because it inflicted further economic harm on a region dependent on maritime commerce.
End of the War
When the war between Britain and France ended in Europe, Britain was eager to end the conflict in the Americas as well. In 1814, British and U.S. diplomats met in Flanders, in northern Belgium, to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent. To most Americans, the quick succession of events at the end of the war made it appear as though American valor at the final battle of New Orleans had forced the British to surrender after almost winning. This view, while inaccurate, strongly contributed to the post-war euphoria that persisted for a decade. Madison's final years began an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, which became known as the "Era of Good Feelings." Madison's reputation as president improved, and Americans finally believed that the United States had established itself as a world power.
Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison, was renowned for her social graces and hospitality and contributed to her husband's popularity as president. During the war, the invading British army neared the president's home in Washington in 1814. Dolley Madison ordered the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington to be removed as the White House staff hurriedly prepared to flee. After the U.S. government officials fled, the First Lady remained behind to organize the slaves and staff to save valuables from the British. Her role increased her popularity, even as newspapers embellished it. When the British soldiers finally arrived, they burned the president's house, and added fuel to the fires that night to ensure they would continue burning into the next day. The thick sandstone walls of the White House and Capitol survived, and they were later rebuilt in Washington.