Election of 1808

Before James Madison ran for the president, he was the Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson. They were both Democratic-Republicans, and were close friends. Since Jefferson decided not to run for his third term, he endorsed Madison as his successor. During the election of 1808, James Madison's opponent was Charles C. Pinckney. Madison was a Democratic-Republican, and Pinckney was a Federalist. In the electoral votes, Madison got 122 and Pinckney got 47. For the popular votes, Madison won with 64.7% and Pinckney lost with 32.4%. Madison had easily won Pinckney through Jefferson's popularity.

Madison became the 4th president of the United States. His vice president was George Clinton, the previous vice president of Thomas Jefferson (1805-1809). As Madison took office, he immediately faced hardships between England and France. Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807 had obviously failed. It not only affected England and other countries but also the US merchants in the South. International trade slowed down, which caused US economy to go down. Madison tried hard to maintain US neutrality, and at the same time, protect the economy.