Editing James Madison (section)

====Military actions====
[[File:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Constitution}} defeats [[HMS Guerriere (1806)|HMS ''Guerriere'']], a significant event during the war. U.S. nautical victories boosted American morale.|alt=Naval warfare of USS Constitution in battle.]]

Given the circumstances involving Napoleon in Europe, Madison initially believed the war would result in a swift American victory.{{sfn|Wills|2002|pages=97–98}}{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}} Madison ordered three landed military spearhead incursions into Canada, beginning from [[Fort Detroit]], aimed to loosening British control around American-held [[Fort Niagara]] and destroying the British supply lines from [[Montreal]]. These actions were intended to gain leverage for concessions to protect American shipping in the Atlantic.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}} Without a standing army, Madison counted on regular state militias to rally to the flag and invade Canada; however, governors in the Northeast failed to cooperate.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=551–552}}  The British army was more organized, utilized professional soldiers, and fostered an alliance with [[Tecumseh's confederacy|Native American tribes led by Tecumseh]]. On August 16, during the British [[siege of Detroit]], Major General [[William Hull]] panicked, after the British fired on the fort, killing two American officers. Terrified of a Native American [[massacre|attack]], drinking heavily, Hull quickly ordered a white tablecloth out a window and unconditionally surrendered Fort Detroit and his entire army to British Major-General Sir [[Isaac Brock]].{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}}{{sfn|Cost|2021|p=334}} Hull, later, was [[court-martialed]] for cowardice, but Madison intervened and saved him from execution.{{sfn|Cost|2021|p=334}} On October 13, a separate force from the United States was defeated at [[Battle of Queenston Heights|Queenston Heights]], although Brock was killed.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=548–550}}{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}} Commanding General [[Henry Dearborn]], hampered by mutinous New England infantry, retreated to winter quarters near [[Albany, New York|Albany]], failing to destroy Montreal's vulnerable British supply lines.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}} Lacking adequate revenue to fund the war, the Madison administration was forced to rely on high-interest loans provided by bankers in New York City and Philadelphia.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=126–127}}

In the [[1812 United States presidential election|1812 presidential election]], held during the early stages of the war, Madison was re-nominated without opposition.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pp=92–93}} A dissident group of New York Democratic-Republicans nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]], the lieutenant governor of New York and a nephew of the recently deceased Vice President George Clinton, to oppose Madison in the 1812 election. This faction of Democratic-Republicans hoped to unseat the president by forging a coalition among Democratic-Republicans opposed to the impending war, as well as those party faithful angry with Madison for not moving more decisively toward war, northerners weary of the [[Virginia dynasty]] and southern control of the White House, and many [[New England]]ers wanted Madison replaced. Dismayed by their prospects of beating Madison, a group of top Federalists met with Clinton's supporters to discuss a strategy for [[electoral alliance|unification]]. Difficult as it was for them to join forces, they nominated Clinton for President and [[Jared Ingersoll]], a Philadelphia lawyer, for vice president.{{sfn|Stagg, 2019}} Hoping to shore up his support in the Northeast, where the War of 1812 was unpopular, Madison selected Governor [[Elbridge Gerry]] of Massachusetts as his running mate,{{sfn|Wills|2002|pages=115–116}} though Gerry would only survive two years after the election due to old age.{{sfn|Billias|1976|p=323}} Despite the maneuverings of Clinton and the Federalists, Madison won re-election, though by the narrowest margin of any election since that of 1800 in the popular vote, as later supported by the electoral vote as well. He received 128 electoral votes to 89 for Clinton.{{sfn|1812 Presidential Election: American Presidency Project}} With Clinton winning most of the Northeast, Madison won Pennsylvania in addition to having swept the South and the West, which ensured his victory.{{Sfn|Wood|2009|pp=682–683}}{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=555–557}}

[[File:British Burning Washington.jpg|thumb|left|The British set ablaze the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] among other buildings in the capital while Madison was President on August 24, 1814.|alt=British action against Madison in 1814.]]  

After the disastrous start to the war, Madison accepted Russia's invitation to arbitrate and sent a delegation led by Gallatin and [[John Quincy Adams]] (the son of former President John Adams) to Europe to negotiate a peace treaty.{{sfn|Wills|2002|pages=97–98}} While Madison worked to end the war, the United States experienced some impressive naval successes, by the {{USS|Constitution}} and other warships, that boosted American morale.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=554, 566–567}}{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=65}} Victorious in the [[Battle of Lake Erie]], the U.S. crippled the supply and reinforcement of British military forces in the western theater of the war.{{sfn|Roosevelt|1999| pp= 147–152}} General [[William Henry Harrison]] defeated the forces of the British and of Tecumseh's confederacy at the [[Battle of the Thames]]. The death of [[Tecumseh]] in that battle marked the permanent end of armed Native American resistance in the Old Northwest and any hope of a united Indian nation.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|page=133}} In March 1814, Major General [[Andrew Jackson]] broke the resistance of the British-allied [[Muscogee]] Creek in the Old Southwest with his victory at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]].{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=138–139, 150}} Despite these successes, the British continued to repel American attempts to invade Canada, and a British force captured [[Capture of Fort Niagara|Fort Niagara]] and burned the American city of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] in late 1813.{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=569–571}}

[[File:Battle of New Orleans Jean-Hyacinthe Laclotte.jpg|thumb|The Battle of New Orleans took place while the Treaty of Ghent was being negotiated in 1815.|alt=Military action in New Orleans under Madison.]]

On August 24, 1814, the British landed a large force on the shores of [[Chesapeake Bay]] and routed General [[William H. Winder|William Winder]]'s army at the [[Battle of Bladensburg]].{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=579–585}} Madison, who had earlier inspected Winder's army,{{sfn|Cost|2021|page=346}} escaped British capture by fleeing to Virginia, though the British [[Burning of Washington|captured Washington]] and burned many of its buildings, including the [[White House]].{{sfn|Feldman|2017|pages=586–588}}{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|p=67}} Dolley had abandoned the capital and fled to Virginia, but only after securing the portrait of [[George Washington]].{{sfn|Cost|2021|page=346}} The charred remains of the capital signified a humiliating defeat for James Madison and America.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|pp=66–67}} On August 27, Madison returned to Washington to view the carnage of the city.{{sfn|Ketcham|2002|pp=66–67}} Dolley returned to the capital the following day. On September 8, the Madisons moved into [[the Octagon House]]. The British army next advanced on [[Baltimore]], but the U.S. repelled the British attack in the [[Battle of Baltimore]], and the British army departed from the Chesapeake region in September.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=165–167}} That same month, U.S. forces repelled a British invasion from Canada with a victory at the [[Battle of Plattsburgh]].{{sfn|Wills|2002|pages=130–131}} The British public began to turn against the war in North America, and British leaders started to look for a quick exit from the conflict.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=179–180}}

In January 1815, Jackson's troops defeated the British at the [[Battle of New Orleans]].{{sfn|Rutland|1990|page=185}} Just over a month later, Madison learned that his negotiators had finalized the [[Treaty of Ghent]] on December 24, 1814, which ended the war.{{sfn|American Heritage, December 1960}} Madison promptly sent the treaty to the Senate, which ratified it on February 16, 1815.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=186–188}} Although the overall outcome of the war resulted in a standoff, the rapid succession of events at the war's conclusion, including the burning of the capital, the Battle of New Orleans, and the Treaty of Ghent, made it seem as though American bravery at New Orleans had compelled the British to surrender. This perspective, although inaccurate, significantly contributed to enhancing Madison's reputation as president.{{sfn|Rutland|1987|page=188}} Napoleon's defeat at the June 1815 [[Battle of Waterloo]] marked a definitive end to the Napoleonic Wars and thus concluded the hostile seizure of American shipping by British and French forces.{{sfn|Rutland|1990|pages=192–201}}