James
Madison:4th President of the United States, 1809-1817
Streams of settlers surged westward during Madison's administration. The lack of imported goods during the War of 1812 encouraged industries to expand, and set the country on the path to becoming an industrial nation. The war also gave the American people their national anthem. Early one morning, as British shells burst about Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner."
| Election of 1808 | Election of 1812 | |||
| Candidate James
Madison |
Electoral
Votes 122 |
Candidate James
Madison |
Electoral
Votes 128 |
|
| His Vice-Presidents and Cabinet | |
| Vice-President | George Clinton Elbridge Gerry (1813) |
| Secretary of State | Robert Smith James Monroe (1811) |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Albert
Gallatin George W. Campbell (1814) Alexander J. Dallas (1814) William H. Crawford (1816) |
| Secretary of War | William Eustis John Armstrong (1813) James Monroe (1814) William H. Crawford (1815) |
| Attorney General | Caesar A. Rodney William Pinkney (1811) Richard Rush (1814) |
| Secretary of the Navy | Paul Hamilton William Jones (1813) B.W. Crowninshield (1814) |
| United States Events During His Administration | |
| States
Admitted Louisiana (1812); Indiana (1816) Territories Organized Missouri (1812); Alabama (1817) Population in 1817 8,900,000 |
|
| 1810 | Congress passed a bill to reopen trade with both Britain and France. |
| Nov 7, 1811 | William Henry Harrison defeated Indian forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe. |
| 1811 | The Cumberland Road was started -- as part of the federal program to improve canals, roads and bridges. |
| June 18, 1812 | Congress declared war on Great Britain. |
| 1814 | New England Federalists held a secret meeting known as the Hartford Convention. |
| Feb 1815 | The United States and Great Britain both ratified the Treaty of Ghent, officially ending the War of 1812. |
| 1816 | The first savings banks in the country were founded at Philadelphia and Boston. |
| World Events During His Administration | |
| 1812 | Napoleon invaded Russia, but had to retreat. |
| 1814 | Denmark gave Norway to Sweden. |
| 1815 | Belgium united with The Netherlands to form a single country. |
| 1815 | Napoleon was crushed at Waterloo. |
| 1815 | Switzerland became independent of France. |
Notes and Trivia
Madison was the only President to face enemy fire while in office, during the British invasion of Washington, D.C., in 1814. He was also the only President to actively exercise his role as commander-in-chief, taking command of an artillery battery during that same invasion.
Questions or comments about this page?
War of
1812
The
Star-Spangled Banner
Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney
George Clinton
Elbridge Gerry
Albert Gallatin
Treaty of Ghent
The Robinson
Library
American History.--United States: General
History and Description.--Revolution to the Civil War,
1775/1783-1861.--Early
Nineteenth Century, 1801/1809-1845.--James Madison's Administration,
1809-1817.--James Madison.
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