Researching a President for Presidents’ Day
President James Madison
Presidents’ Day is observed the third Monday of February. For me, it’s more than a day off, it’s a chance to learn more about my ancestry.
You see, I have a lot of knowledge on the fifth Vice President of the United States: Elbridge Gerry—as I am one of his descendants. I and the rest of my family however, know very little about the president under which he served.
Part of why we know so little about the president VP Gerry served, is we can’t remember which president it was. You’d think it would be easy to match VP to President. Gerry was the fifth Vice President but served under the fourth President. Furthermore, the fourth and fifth presidents are similarly named “James Madison” and “James Monroe”. So to make Presidents’ Day more than just another day off, I sat down and read about James Madison. At the very least, I’ll know my family history, and maybe I’ll be the person my family turns to when they want to learn more about our heritage.
Through my research, which you can read below, I decided I would combine this information and photos into a photo book to have on hand for any family questions that may arise.
James Madison
Before being elected into office, James Madison served in the Continental Congress and the Virginia Assembly. He contributed to the earliest drafting of both the United States Constitution and the Virginian Constitution. He later took great part in the Constitution’s major ratification and helped frame the Bill of Rights.
Madison served as Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of State and thus had the responsibility of negotiating with France and Spain the purchase of the land west of the Mississippi River, which became known as the Louisiana Purchase.
Madison was elected President in 1808. In his first year, the U.S. had prohibited trade between Britain and France, due to the two countries’ conflicts with one another. However by May of 1810 Congress authorized trade with both countries as long as they respected the U.S.’s wishes to remain neutral.
This did not go well. Napoleon only pretended to agree and British ships stopped American trading ships and seized American seamen. Later, Britain was blamed for causing resistance from the American Indians in regards to settlements in the western region.
The United States declared war on Britain June 18, 1812.
Madison commanded American troops on the field—the only president to do so while in office.
While he was away, the British burned the White House and the rest of the nation’s capitol. They then attempted (and failed) to launch a naval assault on Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The battle was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s poem, The Star Spangled Banner, which of course, would become the National Anthem.
The War of 1812 ended on December 24, 1814 when both sides agreed on terms of peace. It is said that the war set where the United States stood as a nation in relationship to the rest of the world.
In April 1812—just before the start of the 1812 election, Madison’s Vice President George Clinton, died. After an intense period of “election-eering” by potential VP candidates, Madison announced Elbridge Gerry as his running mate for his re-election campaign.
Vice President Elbridge Gerry
When Madison’s second term ended in 1817, he and his wife, Dolley Madison, retired to the family estate: Montpelier, in Virginia. He stayed active in politics, finding the American Colonization Society, which was dedicated to freeing slaves and transporting them to Africa’s west coast; He served on the board of visitors at the University of Virginia. In 1829 Madison came out of retirement to attend the Virginia Constitutional Convention.
Madison died at the age of 85 in 1836.
The signers of the Constitution. Gerry and Madison are depicted 3rd & 4th to the left of Washington.
Sources:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison
http://montpelier.org/explore/james_madison/
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_George_Clinton.htm
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