Was James Madison A Success Or Failure

Known as one of America’s founding fathers, secretary of state and president of the United States, James Madison was born in 1751 and grew up in Orange County, Virginia. Madison was the oldest of twelve children and son to a wealthy plantation owner. At age eleven, James was sent to a boarding school but returned five years later to receive private tutoring due to ill health. After two years, Madison went to study at Princeton University, then called the College of New Jersey, where he studied Latin, Greek, science and philosophy and became well-read in law. He Graduated in 1771, staying a bit longer to study under the school's president, Reverend John Witherspoon. After returning to Orange County, Madison became elected to the Orange County
Committee of Safety, and soon after joined the Virginia militia. Being only 5’4 and of ill health, he abandoned his military career to focus on government. His perusal of a government position led him to represent his county at the Virginia Constitution Convention. The colonies eventually declared independence from Britain in 1776, and the Articles of Confederation was created. The articles, however, gave almost all power to the states and left the federal government weak. To correct this problem, in 1787, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was held, where Madison was considered “one of the most valuable and conscientious members.” He served as one of Virginia's delegates and was able to present his ideas of a strong central government, in his “Virginia Plan” and other research, which was once called by Historian Douglass Adair, “probably the most fruitful piece of scholarly research ever carried out.” This Virginia Plan later forms the basis of the U.S. Constitution. After its creation, when making the decision to ratify the Constitution, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay made the major contribution to the ratification by writing the Federalist essays. When he was referred to as the "Father of the Constitution," Madison protested that the document was not "the off-spring of a single brain," but "the work of many heads and many hands." After the creation of the Constitution, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson soon began disagreeing with Federalists on important issues such as federal debt and power. In 1792, Jefferson and Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party, known as America’s first opposition political party. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the third president of the United States and he appointed Madison as secretary of state. In this position, which he held until 1809, Madison accomplished many fetes such as helping to acquire the Louisiana Territory and annexing West Florida in 1810. In the 1808 presidential election, Madison defeated the Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney.
As President of the United States, Madison sought to continue Jefferson’s agenda and disassemble the system left behind by the previous Federalist presidents. In the beginning of Madison’s presidency, the war in Europe between Great Britain and France was a pressing issue. French and British ships were attacking American trade vessels and Madison’s previous policy of the Embargo Act had failed, and been replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act , which allowed trade with any country except France and Britain. When this act became unenforceable another bill replaced it which allowed trade with any countries who agreed to respect US neutrality. Great Britain refused which led to increased tension with the British and later led to the War of 1812, also referred to as “Mr. Madison’s War”. During the war, Madison ran for re-election against Federalist candidate DeWitt Clinton and won. Despite his victory, many disapproved of Madison’s presidency and blamed him for the difficulties stemming from the war. On August 1814, Madison was forced to flee Washington, D.C., when British troops began pillaging the city, including the White House, the Capitol and the Library of Congress. The pillaging of the city led to the destruction of the White House. Before the house was destroyed, Dolley Madison, James Madison’s wife, secured a painting of George Washington from the House. Finally, in December
1814, Britain and the U.S. agreed to negotiate an end to the war and The Treaty of Ghent was signed. During the war, James Madison also had his hardships.
As we recall, there were hardships with France and Britain. Madison preferred to find a peaceful, diplomatic way to settle their disputes. This was seen as a sign of weakness within his own party, the Democratic-Republicans. The group of Republicans that were pro-war, the War Hawks, felt that an attack on Britain was necessary. The War Hawks were not a majority at the time. Over time, they began to influence others that a preemptive strike would be necessary. Eventually, Congress granted a declaration of war. Due to the Republican’s beliefs of a small standing army, they relied on small local militias. In turn, they were bled dry over the course of the war, which Madison had very little involvement in. This led to a near draw by the end of the war. All in all, a war with Britain was inevitable, but due to Madison’s lack of involvement and the miniscule standing army, the death tolls were higher than
expected. Madison’s perception of the war relates to Lyndon Johnson’s original views of the Vietnam war. As you recall, Madison initially did not want to have war with Britain. He preferred peaceful diplomatic options. This is the same with President Johnson. Johnson took office in the midst of the Vietnam War. The United States already had military personnel in Vietnam. Johnson wanted to prevent the intervention of military in Vietnam to promote his re-election. Like Madison, Johnson was influenced by other government officials and Americans to take action. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This gave Johnson the similar power that Madison received when he was granted the declaration of war. Madison and Johnson were different in certain ways. For starters, James Madison was a Democratic-Republican and Lyndon Johnson was a strict Democrat. In regard to the previous paragraph, the intentions of keeping out of the war were different. Madison stayed out of the war to prevent a war, not for his re-election like Johnson did. Johnson, like many modern political figures, pass bills and make decisions to promote their standing in the next election.
Madison, like our founding fathers intended, was solely to build a nation. In conclusion, Madison’s presidency, early stages in politics, and his ending standing within our government helped mold our country to what it is today. He had a lot of accomplishments in his political campaign with a few hardships. Though he differed from Johnson, Madison showed traits that our presidents show today. All in all, President Madison is forever sketched in our nation’s history leaving marks in our modern government that we witness to this day.