President of the United States
On March 4, 1809, James Madison was sworn into office. He defeated Federalist Charles Pinckney and Independent Republican George Clinton by a very wide margin, acquiring 70% of the electoral votes. When Madison became president, tensions between the United States and Great Britain were very high. Great Britain continued to illegally impress, or capture, American soldiers. Britain's reasoning behind this strategy was because Great Britain was already fighting a war in Europe called the Napoleonic War. This caused a desperate need for additional soldiers. Back in Congress, a number of outspoken politicians, such as Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Calhoun of South Carolina began to cry for war with Great Britain. Although James Madison feared the United States could not fight a war with Great Britain effectually, he knew America could not tolerate Great Britain's despicable actions much longer.