December 7, 1808 - James Madison was elected President of the United States, succeeded Thomas Jefferson.

February 20, 1809 - The Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state.

March 1, 1809 - Embargo Act of 1807 repealed and Non-Intercourse Act signed.

March 4, 1809 - Madison becomes first president inaugurated in American-made clothes.

May 1, 1810 - Congress passed Macon's Bill No. 2, which granted Madison the power to resume trade with England and France. The legislation, which also gave Madison the leeway to slam shut the door to trade with either nation, was hardly a hit at home or abroad: Federalist forces lambasted Macon's Bill, while the French viewed it as a clear demonstration of America's pro-British leanings. The hostilities hardly abated and, a few short years later, Madison sailed the nation into the War of 1812.

May 24, 1810 - Argentina began its revolt against Spain.

July 20, 1810 - Colombia declared independence from Spain.

September 16, 1810 - Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, launched the Mexican War of Independence with the issuing of his Grito de Dolores, or "Cry of Delores," calling for an end to the 300 years of Spanish rule in Mexico.

September 18, 1810 - Chile declared its independence from Spain.

October 12, 1810 - Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese--"Therese's fields"--in honor of the crown princess; although locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n." Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria. The decision to repeat the festivities and the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the annual Oktoberfest.

January 2, 1811 - Senator Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, becomes the first senator to be censured when the Senate approves a censure motion against him by a vote of 20 to seven. Pickering was accused of violating congressional law for revealing to the public secret foreign policy documents sent by the president to Congress.

March 14, 1812 - Legislators heeded Madison's plea and approved the issue of the very first war bond, worth some eleven million dollars to pay for the War of 1812. Over the next three years of the war, Congress would authorize six more war bonds, and also hike tariffs on imports, all in the name of another battle against Great Britain.

July 5, 1811 - Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

November 7, 1811 - Tecumseh's (Shawnee chief) band of followers were defeated in the Battle of the Wabash (or Tippecanoe) by William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory.

February 11, 1812 - Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law that favored his party - giving rise to the term ''gerrymandering.''

March 14, 1812 - Legislators approved the issue of the very first war bond, worth some $11 million dollars, to bolster the nation's defenses. Over the next three years of the war, Congress would authorize six more war bonds, and also hike tariffs on imports, all in the name of another battle against Great Britain.

March 29, 1812 - The first White House wedding took place, when Lucy Payne Washington (First Lady Dolly Madison's sister) married Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd.

April 4, 1812 - President James Madison fired an economic salvo at the British government and enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with England; designed to protect America's embattled merchant ships from continued attacks by the British and French; British refused to cease harassing American ships, prompting Madison to lead America into the War of 1812.

April 30, 1812 - Louisiana became the 18th state.

May 11, 1812 - Spencer Perceval, prime minister of Britain since 1809, is shot to death in London by demented businessman John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons. Bellingham, who was inflamed by his failure to obtain government compensation for war debts incurred in Russia, gave himself up immediately. His assassin, though deemed insane, was executed one week later.

June 1, 1812 - President Madison gave the call to Congress to declare war on Great Britain (England persisted in its practice of halting U.S. ships and seizing men who were suspected of having deserted the Royal Navy); June 4 - House voted 79 to 49 to engage England in armed conflict; by the end of the month the United States was embroiled in the War of 1812.

June 4, 1812 - The Louisiana Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory.

June 28, 1812 - The United States declared war against Britain.

June 24, 1812 - French Emperor Napoleon orders his Grande Armee, the largest European military force ever assembled to that date, into Russia. The enormous army, featuring some 500,000 soldiers and staff, included troops from all the European countries under the sway of the French Empire. Russians under General Mikhail Kutuzov burned everything behind them as they retreated deeper and deeper into Russia. September 7 - the indecisive Battle of Borodino was fought, in which both sides suffered terrible losses. September 14 -  Napoleon arrived in Moscow intending to find supplies but instead found almost the entire population evacuated, and the Russian army retreated again. Early the next morning, fires broke across the city, set by Russian patriots, and the Grande Armee's winter quarters were destroyed. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving army out of Moscow. During the disastrous retreat, Napoleon's army suffered continual harassment from a suddenly aggressive and merciless Russian army. Stalked by hunger and the deadly lances of the Cossacks, the decimated army reached the Berezina River late in November, but found their way blocked by the Russians. November 27 - Napoleon forced a way across at Studenka, and when the bulk of his army passed the river two days later, he was forced to burn his makeshift bridges behind him, stranding some 10,000 stragglers on the other side. From there, the retreat became a rout; December 8 - Napoleon left what remained of his army to return to Paris. Six days later, the Grande Armee finally escaped Russia, having suffered a loss of more than 400,000 men during the disastrous invasion.

June 30, 1812 - President James Madison delivers a special message calling for emergency commissions for new military officers 12 days after declaring war on Britain. Disastrous campaigns in Canada against the British in the summer of 1812 prompted Madison to urge Congress to increase emergency commissions of military officers, adjutants, quartermasters, inspectors, paymasters and engineers. War of 1812 was often referred to as "Madison’s War"--particularly when things were not going well--or the "Second War of Independence." Among the troops to distinguish themselves in the War of 1812 were two future presidents: William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson. The successful end to the war in 1815 boosted Madison’s popularity and increased Americans’ confidence in their ability to fight off foreign aggressors.

September 14, 1812 - French emperor Napoleon entered Moscow, but found it deserted. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving army out of Moscow. The Grande Armée finally escaped Russia, having suffered a loss of over 400,000 men during the disastrous invasion.

February 27, 1813 - first federal vaccination legislation enacted.

June 21, 1813 - 80,000 British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops under British General Arthur Wellesley routed the 66,000-man army of Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jourdan at Vitoria, 175 miles northeast of Madrid. By October, the Iberian Peninsula was liberated, and Wellesley launched an invasion of France. The allies had penetrated France as far as Toulouse when news of Napoleon's abdication reached them in April 1814, ending the Peninsular War.

March 30, 1814 - European forces allied against Napoleonic France march triumphantly into Paris, formally ending a decade of French domination on the Continent. 1812 - He began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington, and enduring total defeat against an allied force in 1814. 1815 - escaped to France from exile on the island of Elba and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo. He was then exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died six years later.

April 11, 1814 - Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as emperor of France and was banished to the island of Elba.

August 9, 1814 - Major General Andrew Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson ending the Creek War. The agreement provided for the surrender of 23 million acres of Creek land to the United States.

August 23, 1814 - Dolley Madison saves a portrait of George Washington from being looted by British; August 24, 1814 - British forces invaded Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House; 1817 - newly elected President James Monroe moved back into the reconstructed building.

September 14, 1814 - Francis Scott Key wrote ''The Star-Spangled Banner'' after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key, an American lawyer, watched the siege while held on a British ship and wrote famous words after observing that the U.S. flag over Fort McHenry was still waving after an 1,800-bomb assault. The lyrics were set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," an English drinking song written by the British composer John Stafford Smith.

October 6, 1814 - Alexander J. Dallas took the oath to become the United States' sixth Secretary of the Treasury on this day. Dallas' tenure came to a close in 1816.

1815 - Importation Act of 1815 enacted Corn Laws in Britain, tariffs on various types of grain that shielded British agriculture, a sector dominated by powerful landowners, from foreign competition and forced consumers to pay higher prices.; 1836 - Anti-Corn Law Association was set up in London; 1846 - repealed.

June 18, 1815 - At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history. 1800 - he reorganized his armies and defeated Austria. 1802 - he established the Napoleonic Code, a new system of French law; 1804 - was crowned emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral. 1807 - Napoleon controlled an empire that stretched from the River Elbe in the north, down through Italy in the south, and from the Pyrenees to the Dalmatian coast. 1812 - Napoleon began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War, and enduring total defeat against an allied force by 1814; 1815 - escaped to France from island of Elba and set up a new regime; raised a new Grand Army and marched into Belgium. He intended to defeat the allied armies one by one before they could launch a united attack. June 16, 1815 - he defeated the Prussians under Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher at Ligny, and sent 33,000 men, or about one-third of his total force, in pursuit of the retreating Prussians. June 18 - Napoleon led his remaining 72,000 troops against the Duke of Wellington's 68,000-man allied army, which had taken up a strong position 12 miles south of Brussels near the village of Waterloo. In a fatal blunder, Napoleon waited until mid-day to give the command to attack in order to let the ground dry. The delay in fighting gave Blucher's troops, who had eluded their pursuers, time to march to Waterloo and join the battle by the late afternoon. French casualties in the Battle of Waterloo were 25,000 men killed and wounded and 9,000 captured, while the allies lost about 23,000.Napoleon returned to Paris; June 22 -  abdicated in favor of his son. July 15 - he surrendered to British protection at the port of Rochefort. He hoped to travel to the United States, but the British instead sent him to Saint Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. With a group of followers, he lived quietly on St. Helena for six years. May 1821 - he died, most likely of stomach cancer. He was only 51 years old. 1840 - his body was returned to Paris, and a magnificent funeral was held. Napoleon's body was conveyed through the Arc de Triomphe and entombed under the dome of the Invalides.

August 8, 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, to spend the remainder of his days in exile.

September 26, 1815 - The Act of the Holy Alliance was signed by the Czar of Russia, Emperor of Austro-Hungary, and the King of Prussia -- in the name of Christianity.

December 11, 1815 - President James Madison presents to Congress a trade agreement with Great Britain that would regulate commerce between the two countries. The agreement came just one year after the signing of the treaty that ended the War of 1812. The commerce agreement secured America’s autonomy on the high seas, but more importantly, it signified Britain’s acceptance of America as a separate nation with the will and capacity to defend its interests. Madison described the 1815 maritime trade agreement as "conciliatory," he also emphasized America’s insistence that American navigation be "confined to American seamen," free from international (i.e. British) interference. Madison thus signaled to the world that America would continue to vigorously defend her territory and economic interests.

1816 - Argentina declared its independence from Spain.

March 14, 1816 - House of Representatives voted to establish the Second Bank of the United States; 1817 - up and running in Philadelphia, with a twenty-year charter and $35 million in federal funding; floundered under first chief, William Jones; later flourished under charge of Nelson Biddle; didn't survive past the term of its initial charter: states' rights activists, led by President Andrew Jackson, mounted a hotly contested, though ultimately successful, drive to abolish the Bank and its network of branch offices; 1832 - Jackson vetoed Congress's re-charter.

March 20, 1816 - The Supreme Court affirmed its right to review state court decisions.

July 9, 1816 - Argentina declared independence from Spain.

December 4, 1816 - James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.

December 11, 1816 - Indiana became the 19th U.S. state.

Henry Adams; notes and selected texts by Earl N. Harbert (1986). History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison. (New York, NY: Literary Classics of the United States, 1436 p.). United States--Politics and government--1809-1817.

Lance Banning (1995). The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 543 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; Constitutional history--United States; United States--Politics and government--1775-1783; United States--Politics and government--1783-1789; United States--Politics and government--1789-1797.

Gaillard Hunt (1968). The Life of James Madison. (New York, NY: Russell & Russell, 402 p. [reprint of 1902 ed.]). Madison, James, 1751-1836.

Ralph Ketcham (1971). James Madison; A Biography. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 753 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836.

Adrienne Koch (1986). Jefferson and Madison: The Great Collaboration. (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 294 p. [orig. pub. 1950]). James, 1751-1836 --Political and social views; Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 --Views on democracy; Madison, James, 1751-1836 --Views on democracy; Democracy.

Richard E. Labunski (2006). James Madison and the Sruggle for the Bill of Rights. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 352 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; United States. Constitution. 1st-10th Amendments--History; Civil rights--United States--History. For three grueling weeks, Madison and Patrick Henry fought over whether Virginia should ratify the Constitution; Madison won by a handful of votes, mollifying Anti-Federalist fears by promising to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. 

Frederick C. Leiner (2006). The End of Barbary Terror: America’s 1815 War Against the Pirates of North Africa. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 256 p.). Pirates--Africa, North--History--19th century; United States--History--War with Algeria, 1815. President James Madison first tried diplomacy,  sent the largest American naval force ever gathered to that time to end Barbary terror once and for all. 

Stuart Leibiger (1999). Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 284 p.). Washington, George, 1732-1799 --Friends and associates; Madison, James, 1751-1836 --Friends and associates; United States--Politics and government--1783-1789; United States--Politics and government--1775-1783.

Drew R. McCoy (1989). The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 386 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; Presidents--United States--Biography; United States--Politics and government--1815-1861.

William Lee Miller (1992). The Business of May Next: James Madison and the Founding. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 296 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836 --Political and social views; Constitutional history--United States; Political science--United States--History--18th century.

Gary Rosen (1999). American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of Founding. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 237 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; Social contract. Bold and persuasive analysis of the political problems posed by the American founding and the remarkable integrity, consistency, and originality with which Madison addressed them.

Robert Allen Rutland (1987). James Madison: The Founding Father. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 287 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; Presidents -- United States -- Biography; United States -- Politics and government -- 1789-1809.

--- (1990). The Presidency of James Madison. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 233 p.). Madison, James, 1751-1836; United States--Politics and government--1809-1817; United States--History--War of 1812.

Garry Wills (2002). James Madison. (New York, NY: Times Books, 184 p.). Professor (Northwestern University). Madison, James, 1751-1836; Presidents--United States--Biography; United States--Politics and government--1809-1817.

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LINKS

The James Madison Center http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center                                          "Located on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Center serves as a repository for information on Madison's life and times (1751-1836) as well as that of the Federalist Era." The site features essays and excerpts from documents relating to Madison's life and work as the fourth U.S. president. Topics include the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the Louisiana Purchase, and the War of 1812. Searchable. Subjects: Madison, James, 1751-1836; Presidents; United States; People.

The James Madison Center: Bill of Rights http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/ madison_archives/ constit_confed/rights/rights.htm  Background about the Bill of Rights and James Madison's involvement with its passage in 1791. Includes antecedents (such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights), images of notes for and the text of Madison's June 1789 speech to the House of Representatives proposing the Bill of Rights, text and audio of the Bill of Rights, an article about Madison and the separation of church and state, and related material. From James Madison University.

James Madison Museum                   http://www.jamesmadisonmus.org/                                          Dedicated to James Madison, 4th President of the United States and Father of the Constitution.

The James Madison Papers http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/    The mention of James Madison conjures up images of the emergence of the U.S. Constitution, as well it should. In this remarkable new digital collection, the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress presents over 12,000 items in some 72,000 digital images that offer a detailed and authoritative portrait of the man who is often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution". This portrait effectively emerges from the diverse set of documents offered here, which include personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, and autobiography, and correspondence. The collection itself is organized into six series, and it begins with a selection of his father's letters and continues all the way to the postwar years of his presidency. The digital collection is further enhanced by four nice essays, including an introductory piece by John C.A. Stagg and a rather intriguing piece on the ciphers used by Madison in his correspondence. The site is rounded out by a search engine and a timeline.