James Madison's Failures

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During his entire life, James Madison, who is one of the founding fathers, contributed many dedications to the States, especially when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the fourth president of the U.S, he consciously chose to create a new model of presidential power that he thought would fit better with the system of the separation of powers after seeing “the danger overwrought executive power poses to republican constitutionalism” (Kleinerman). Despite of having such good intention, some of his actions led the country through some significant suffers. On one hand, people like John Adams suggested that the Madison administration "has acquired more glory, and established more Union, than all three predecessors, Washington, …show more content…

Although many soldiers complained that Wilkinson was inadequate and a two-year congressional investigation into the Wilkinson matter proved to be inconclusive, Madison chose to retain Wilkinson for political reasons. Later on, when Wilkinson was defeated in two battles by the British, Madison relieved the officer from active military service. Historian Robert Allen Rutland stated that the Wilkinson affair left "scars on the War Department" and "left Madison surrounded by senior military incompetents ..." at the beginning of the War of 1812 (1990). As a president, Madison failed to maximize his power and authority while he held the office. Most importantly, he failed to use his power in order to control his commander. The former president failed to regulate his own office. When he ordered the US Army to protect Native lands from intrusion by settlers, to the chagrin of his military commander Andrew Jackson, they resisted carrying out the president's order. And by 1815, with a population of 400,000 European-American settlers in Ohio, Indian rights to their lands had effectively become invalid. …show more content…

He specifically recommended enlarging the army, preparing the militia, finishing the military academy, stockpiling munitions, and expanding the navy (Ketcham, 509). Still, the precipitance led to poor preparation. By that time, there were serious threats of disunion from New England, which engaged in extensive smuggling with Canada and refused to provide financial support or soldiers (Stagg). Because of certain faults above, Madison then could not finance the quick hiring of mercenaries so his military force consisted mostly of poorly trained militia members at the time war

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