Summary
In the election of 1808, James Madison managed to win by publishing
dispatches from his term as Jefferson's secretary of state, proving that he was
tough on the British. On March 4, 1809, Madison became US President. It was
easily apparent that he was no Thomas Jefferson: the short, bald, unimposing
Madison lacked personal magnetism as well as the ability to inspire his
audiences. Soon after taking office, the Madison government had to deal with the
imminent expiration of the Non-Intercourse Act. In 1810, Congress passed
Macon's Bill No. 2. declaring that if either France or Britain normalized
trade with the US, the US would employ the Non-Intercourse Act against the
other power. Napoleon jumped at the opportunity.
In August of 1810, he quickly promised that all economic terms restricting US
imports into Europe would soon be lifted. Based on this promise, Madison
reinstated the Non-Intercourse Acts restricting trade with Britain in November
1810, pushing the US closer to war with Britain than it had been since the 1807
Chesapeake Incident. Napoleon, for his part, did not keep his promise.
Also in 1810, American forces took control of Spain's province of West Florida.
There had been some boundary disputes regarding the Louisiana
Purchase in 1803, and Madison now
pursued the
furthest extent of those boundaries in Spanish Florida with tremendous popular
support. In 1812, Madison faced a tough re-election against Federalist
opponent Dewitt Clinton. US possession of West Florida was probably the crucial
issue propelling Madison to reelection.
Macon's Bill No. 2 was a crafty piece of foreign policy, through which US
leaders hoped to resume trade with either Britain or France by playing the two
arch-enemies against each other. Napoleon proved craftier, however. He quickly
promised the US a repeal of the Continental
System,
but with no intention of keeping the promise. Madison had no way of knowing
if Napoleon meant to keep his promise, and he had no way of enforcing Napoleon's
terms. Madison made a serious mistake by thinking he could take Napoleon at his
word. We can consider Napoleon either a deceitful liar or we can consider him to
be a master tactician and brilliant strategist, who employed misdirection in all
he did, from battlefield tricks to diplomacy. Regardless, Napoleon got exactly
what he wanted. He gave the US nothing but an empty promise, and for that, the
US aligned with France, reinvoked the Non-Intercourse Acts against Britain, and
started a war against Britain that would divert British resources away from
opposing Napoleon's armies on the European continent.
However, although it seems as though France simply beat Britain to meeting
Macon's Bill No. 2, Britain also tried to meet the bill's conditions
immediately. Britain, however, asked the US to raise trade restrictions against
all British enemies, not just the French. In addition, the British demanded
that the US allow Impressment of US sailors to continue. Britain's offer
was quickly rejected in favor of Napoleon's.
Under President Jefferson, James Madison had served as Secretary of State. A
faithful, hardworking, and dutiful servant, Madison believed firmly in the same
principles as Jefferson, although he never was quite as eloquent in arguing for
them. During his presidency, his party, the Democratic-Republicans, held a
strong majority in Congress. However, considerable factionalism existed even
within the party, and bickering and indecision plagued Madison's cabinet as a
result and often created intense pressure over handling of foreign and domestic policy.
