04 - James Madison Episodes | Presidencies of the United States

April 20, 2025

4.41 - The Next to the Last of the Founders

Year(s) Discussed: 1815-1817 As Madison prepared to hand off the presidency to James Monroe, numerous matters - both foreign and domestic - came to his desk. From revolutions in South America to internal improvement bills, the President continued to chart a course for his administration, even is…

April 6, 2025

4.40 - The Year Without a Summer

Year(s) Discussed: 1815-1816 While Madison's administration in its latter days worked to secure peace with Native peoples in the Gulf South, General Andrew Jackson decided to act unilaterally in Florida against a fortified settlement of people seeking their freedom from enslavement. Meanwhile, a…

March 9, 2025

4.39 - New Year, New Bank

Year(s) Discussed: 1813-1816 In the aftermath of the War of 1812, the Madison administration is faced with multiple lingering issues. Looming large is how to support the recovery of the national economy, and Treasury Secretary Alexander J Dallas's proposed solution of a new national bank meets w…

Jan. 19, 2025

4.38 - Shortest. War. Ever.

Year(s) Discussed: 1814-1815 As the British and Americans handed back over land captured during the recent War, the US government was finally able to turn its attention to the situation with Algiers and the American sailors that had been held captive by them for years. Meanwhile, in Europe, Napo…

Dec. 9, 2024

4.37 - What Now? The Aftermath of War

Year(s) Discussed: 1814-1815 In the latter days of the War of 1812, President Madison had to rebuild a shattered administration and a decimated capital city while still working to bring the military conflict to a resolution. Meanwhile, in New England, the British took control of a large portion …

Oct. 21, 2024

4.36 - One More Battle

Year(s) Discussed: 1812-1815 After failing to take Baltimore, the British turn their attention to the Gulf South in an attempt to land another blow to the Americans before the work of the peace commissioners brought the war to an end. However, they would find General Andrew Jackson ready to defe…

Sept. 29, 2024

4.35 - A Christmas Miracle

Year(s) Discussed: 1814 In the aftermath of the burning of Washington, DC, the Madison administration hardly had time to pick up the pieces before they had to turn their attention to a new British invasion of Baltimore. Meanwhile, the American negotiators in Europe worked to find a path to peace…

July 31, 2024

4.34 - The Storm That Saved Washington

Year(s) Discussed: 1813-1814 President Madison and his administration learned that the British were sending seasoned veterans of the Napoleonic Wars to fight American forces in the north as the new commander of the British North American fleet issued orders designed to attack the United States e…

July 7, 2024

4.33 - Stalemate

Year(s) Discussed: 1812-1815 As the second year of the war against Britain wrapped up, the Madison administration found that little progress had been made. The invasion of Canada had stalled, and merchants in New England were undermining the war effort by continuing to trade with the British. Me…

May 26, 2024

4.32 - Exile

Year(s) Discussed: 1813-1814 The Allied forces of Europe were drawing ever closer to the French capital in the early months of 1814, and the Emperor Napoleon had to consider what options remained for him and for his empire. Meanwhile, American diplomats in Europe worked to determine what impact …

May 12, 2024

4.31 - Horseshoe Bend

Year(s) Discussed: 1813-1814 Within a few months' time, Andrew Jackson went from having a depleted force under his command to achieving one of the most decisive victories in his military career. In this episode, we explore how that transpired and the ramifications that this would have for the Na…

March 31, 2024

4.30 - We Have Met the Enemy

Year(s) Discussed: 1813 As the War of 1812 moved into its second year, two American commanders on the northwestern frontier - William Henry Harrison and Oliver Hazard Perry - struggled against logistical challenges and political infighting to assemble their respective forces in order to finally …

Feb. 12, 2024

4.29 - The Twilight

Year(s) Discussed: 1812-1813 After the failed campaign in Russia, French Emperor Napoleon had to regroup. And by regroup, I mean launch another war, of course. It soon became clear, though, that the tide was shifting, and instead of a war of conquest, Napoleon was now fighting for the survival o…

Jan. 28, 2024

4.28 - Burnt Corn and the Fort

Year(s) Discussed: 1813 Tensions had been building between the Native inhabitants and the incoming American settlers in the Gulf South, and the year 1813 saw open hostilities which resulted in a joint operation planned by the US federal government and state and territorial governments in the are…

Dec. 13, 2023

4.27 - Don't Give Up the Ship

Year(s) Discussed: 1813 The 1812 ground campaign in the north may have been a bust, but with a new year and a new Secretary of War in place, surely the invasion of Canada would go better in 1813, right? Meanwhile, President Madison had to deal with trying to work with a contentious Congress as w…