Chapter 3: The Second Revolution and the Era of Nationalism
Though the Federalists were effectively a non-issue, the Democratic-Republicans still faced some problems. Their strongest presidential candidate, Thomas Jefferson, had retired from federal politics after the previous election, and wasn’t willing to give the presidency another go. The next option was James Madison, a co-founder of the party along with Jefferson. Madison was an intelligent man, seen as the main force behind the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Madison was willing to take the position, and he was made the Democratic-Republican candidate for the upcoming election.
1808 was an easy victory for the Democratic-Republicans. While the Federalists remained strong in most of New England, Madison carried the rest of the nation. New York and New Jersey were solidly in the Democratic-Republican sphere by this point, and even Delaware went for the Democratic-Republicans over the Federalists.
The America that Madison became president over was on a knife’s edge. In 1809, tensions with Britain were at an all time high. The Caribbean and the Gulf of Texas were the crowning jewels of the British Empire, and the US port of New Orleans was an unsightly stain on British domination of the sea. While the war scare was growing, the US military was nearly non-extant. The previous line of Federalist presidents had gradually diminished the ability of the military.
There were also a number of US motivations for war. Unresolved anger over the Chesapeake affair, when the USS Chesapeake was attacked by the HMS Leopard off the coast of Norfolk, added to the tension between the two. Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia at the time, wrote that the incident was an insult to the US, and Madison agreed strongly with his colleague. Another possible motivation was a desire to take Rupert’s Land from the British. Chief among US grievances, many US seamen were forced to join the British Navy, and many US ships were captured by the British. This was seen as a grave insult to the American nation and national honour.
During this period of national unrest, Madison was of course under great duress. Unfortunately, despite his intelligence, Madison was not an incredibly skilled leader. His embargoes and restrictions on Britain had little effect, and captures of American vessels and the impressment of American sailors continued. It became even more obvious to Madison that more drastic measures needed to be taken to protect the national honour and his legacy as president.
On February 15th, 1810, the 11th United States Congress declared war on Britain. With a vote of 13-3, the war was widely but not unanimously agreed upon. Notably, the Federalists were major opponents of the war. At one point, the idea of New England seceding from the US was thrown around amongst some. The point of the war was to protect American sovereignty and honour, and to prove to the British that they couldn’t do whatever they pleased.