04 - James Madison Episodes
May 28, 2023
4.21 - When It Rains
Year(s) Discussed: 1812 In the aftermath of the surrender of Detroit, the Madison administration had to consider whether its strategy against Britain had already gone awry in the early days of the War of 1812. Meanwhile, in East Florida, the arrival of a new colonial governor boded ill for the Patriot cause. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
April 30, 2023
4.20 - Once More Unto the Breach
Year(s) Discussed: 1812 With the path to war set, the Madison administration had to develop a strategy to prosecute warfare against Great Britain. On top of logistical difficulties, having a Secretary of War and a Secretary of the Navy with little to no military experience didn't help matters, and Congress hoped to force Madison's hand at changing up his Cabinet. Meanwhile, agents spurred on by the American government launched attacks against Spanish authorities in East Florida with the goal of delivering that colony to the United States. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
April 09, 2023
4.19 - Let Slip...
Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1812 Tensions had been building for years between Britain and the United States. By June 1812, the American government was ready to take action. The circumstances by which they would declare war, however, were far from ideal, and it was only due to a series of events on both sides of the Atlantic that a war was entered into that potentially could have been avoided. Meanwhile, the first half of 1812 would bear witness to an assassination that threw a government into chaos, the untimely death of a prominent US official, and the entrance of a new state into the American union. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
March 12, 2023
4.18 - Put Your Best Plot Forward
Year(s) Discussed: 1811-1812 In 1811, President Madison brought in a new US Minister who he felt might actually be able to navigate the complicated diplomatic intrigues of the Napoleonic French government to bring about a resolution to long-standing issues with that government as he and his administration worked with Congress to set the nation on a path of war with Great Britain. Meanwhile, on the border with East Florida, American agents gathered supplies and plotted to take that Spanish colony for the US. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
February 26, 2023
4.17 - Unsettled Ground
Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1812 With changes happening in the nation's capital and abroad, the Madison administration worked as 1811 gave way to 1812 to navigate through new circumstances. In the House of Representatives, new leadership came to the forefront with an expansionist agenda. Around the same time, the nascent independence movements in Spanish America continued apace and Tecumseh traveled to the Gulf South to recruit nations there to join his confederacy. Unbeknownst to all of them, geologic tensions were building in a seismic zone along the Mississippi River. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
February 05, 2023
4.16 - We're Not Going to Take It Anymore
Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 As a new British Minister made his way to the US, a naval engagement off the Eastern Seaboard further complicated relations between the United States and United Kingdom. In Washington, President Madison had to figure out how to approach the situation with the French as he and his administration began to plot on how to foment rebellion in East Florida as they had successfully done in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, in the west, William Henry Harrison took a chance to combat the threat posed by Tecumseh and his brother by leading a military force to Prophetstown. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
January 15, 2023
4.15 - Affairs of State
Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 As President Madison struggled to fill various vacant positions in both the executive and judicial branches, the administration's enemies in Congress gathered their forces to take on an institution that had been in the cross hairs of some Democratic-Republican leaders for the twenty years since its original inception - the Bank of the United States. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin forced Madison's hands to make a significant change in his administration, a change that the President could also use to fully mend fences with his longtime friend and occasional rival, James Monroe. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
December 11, 2022
4.14 - Freedom or Death
Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1811 As news of Macon's Bill No. 2 reached Europe, US Minister John Armstrong worked to take advantage of the increasingly precarious situation for the French in order to secure a deal with the government of Emperor Napoleon that would restore open trade with that nation. Back in the US, President Madison struggled to address the worsening relations with Great Britain while administration officials in the Orleans Territory dealt with an uprising of enslaved individuals seeking their freedom. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
October 30, 2022
4.13 - The Spanish Situations
Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 With the Spanish government on the Iberian peninsula in disarray, people in their colonial holdings in the Americas had to figure out what to do in the meantime. Some decided to stay the course with current leadership while others used the opportunity to try to bring about political change on the ground. While also feeling the impact of decisions being made in other parts of Spanish America, the Madison administration saw an opportunity in the chaos for a long-coveted territorial acquisition just across the border in West Florida. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com
04 - James Madison
October 09, 2022
4.12 - The Two Shawnee Brothers
Year(s) Discussed: c. 1764-1810 In the latter decades of the 18th and the first decade of the 19th century, native peoples in the old Northwest found themselves under threat from a westward push from Europeans wishing to settle on their lands and being treated as pawns in conflicts between European powers and the US. Out of this chaotic time, two key leaders emerged - Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa - who would devote themselves to the cause of restoring native cultures and societal structures and rally support to push back against the near-constant demands by US officials for greater land cessions. Sources used in this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
September 25, 2022
4.11 - Intrigue in Washington
Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1810 In the wake of the failed negotiations with British Minister to the US Francis James Jackson, the Madison administration and Congress had to determine next steps to address the tensions with both Great Britain and France. Meanwhile, a new diplomat arrived from Spain as some American officials began to consider ways to secure the Floridas for the US. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com
04 - James Madison
September 04, 2022
4.10 - Yazoo v Yazoo
Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1810 For fifteen years, one controversy popped up time and again to disrupt the public arena - the Yazoo Land Controversy. From newspaper essays to debates in Congress, this issue involved some of the biggest leaders of the time including Alexander Hamilton, John Randolph of Roanoke, John Quincy Adams, and James Madison. Finally, in 1810, the Supreme Court took up a case that would look to settle the matter once and for all and, in the process, set an important constitutional precedent. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
August 21, 2022
4.09 - Fear and Loathing in Napoleonic Europe
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1810 Despite achieving a victory in the War of the Fifth Coalition, French Emperor Napoleon's hold on control over the European continent was looking increasingly shaky. This would make the reception received by the new US Minister to Russia John Quincy Adams a warm one as Russia was on the hunt for new allies. Meanwhile, wealthy American businessman and merchant John Jacob Astor set in motion plans to create a trading network across the globe that would also include trading posts across the North American continent including a key new settlement on the west coast. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
July 24, 2022
4.083 - Dolley Madison Part Three
Year(s) Discussed: 1817-1858 James and Dolley Madison left Washington, DC in 1817 anticipating a peaceful retirement in Montpelier. Little did they know what life had in store for them or that Dolley would end up returning to the social circles of the leading politicians in the nation's capital. Learn more about the triumphs and tribulations faced by the former Lady Presidentress in her later years and the legacy that she left by listening to this episode. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison
July 10, 2022
4.082 - Dolley Madison Part Two
Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1849 We continue our examination of the life and legacy of Dolley Madison with a discussion with Hilarie Hicks, Senior Research Historian at James Madison's Montpelier. In this episode, we talk about Dolley's role in the social circles of the nation's capital during James's presidency, her management of the household, her views on slavery, and whether she was responsible for saving the portrait of George Washington during the British invasion of Washington, DC. More information can be found on the website at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
04 - James Madison