James Madison's Contribution Essay

It is the minds of powerful and brilliant thinkers from every era of history that have led to the world we live in today. James Madison made a positive impact on the United States through his many political actions. During the Constitutional Convention, Madison created the Virginia plan. While he was the secretary of state, he acquired the Louisiana Territory. While he was the fourth president of the United States, he lead the country defiantly against the British during the War of 1812. While some believe that Madison’s leadership during the War was inadequate, when one looks at the historical facts, it becomes very clear that he attempted to lead the United States the best he could. As a Founding Father, Madison’s contributions were used to create the US Constitution (complex sentence). Before the Constitutional Convention, he became critical of the Articles of Confederation at the time, believing it gave too much power to the states and in turn made the central government too weak to function properly. Thus, he developed ideas of how the government should run differently. Among Madison’s ideas presented during the Constitutional Convention in 1787 include using checks and balances to make the branches equal, giving specific power to local government, and dividing the government up into three separate branches (James Madison, 2009). These points were all addressed in his famous Virginia Plan. This plan is most famous for creating the idea of a bicameral legislature with each house having different terms of office (Steinberg 109). These various ideas became the foundation for the United States Constitution. As a result of his ideas, the government was split up into Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches, the latter of which was divided into an upper and lower house. This format of government is stilled used by the United States today and has proven to be one of, if not the most, effective layout of government in modern human history. It is no surprise that he has been nicknamed “The Father of the Constitution”. After the Constitution had been signed, he also helped create the Bill of Rights by writing the First Amendment: Freedom of speech (complex sentence). This right is believed to be one of the most democratic and powerful abilities ever given to a nation’s citizens. What is even more impressive, however, is that this was far from the extent of his achievements. …show more content…
As Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson, James Madison famously acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This 530 million acre territory was previously owned by France. Due to Madison’s clever negotiation, the Territory was given to the USA at an expense of $15 million (Louisiana Purchase, n.d.). This landmark exchange nearly doubled the size of the country, giving a surge of excitement amongst the American people to expand the country westward. This action had been strategically taken after Spain had ceded the territory back to France in 1800, and both Jefferson and Madison feared that Napoleon would attempt to reclaim New Orleans from the United States (Steinberg 160-161) (compound sentence). After fighting against France’s navy less than a decade prior with the Quasi War, the US was not intent on fighting France again so quickly. It is careful thinking such as this that made Madison so brilliant. The acquisition of Louisiana not only resulted in Manifest Destiny, - the belief that it was God’s intent for the United States to expand all the way to the west coast - but it also resulted in new lands still owned by the US to this day. Major historical events such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act that defined where our country stands today would not have happened had the United States not purchased Louisiana. Madison’s strategic and wise thinking prevented another war with France and the potential loss of New Orleans, a major port city. Surprisingly, it would not be until his presidency when Madison’s brilliance truly shown. When James Madison was elected as the 4th president of the United States in 1809, the nation was on the brink of war with England. After the Embargo Act of 1807, Britain and France both began to attack US trade ships, and England began to force sailors to join their own navy (compound sentence). This eventually lead to nonintercourse with England, yet