Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1811
As news of Macon's Bill No. 2 reached Europe, US Minister John Armstrong worked to take advantage of the increasingly precarious situation for the French in order to secure a deal with the gov…
Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811
With the Spanish government on the Iberian peninsula in disarray, people in their colonial holdings in the Americas had to figure out what to do in the meantime. Some decided to stay the cours…
Year(s) Discussed: c. 1764-1810
In the latter decades of the 18th and the first decade of the 19th century, native peoples in the old Northwest found themselves under threat from a westward push from Europeans wishing to …
Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1810
In the wake of the failed negotiations with British Minister to the US Francis James Jackson, the Madison administration and Congress had to determine next steps to address the tensions with b…
Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1810
For fifteen years, one controversy popped up time and again to disrupt the public arena - the Yazoo Land Controversy. From newspaper essays to debates in Congress, this issue involved some of …
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1810
Despite achieving a victory in the War of the Fifth Coalition, French Emperor Napoleon's hold on control over the European continent was looking increasingly shaky. This would make the recepti…
Year(s) Discussed: 1817-1858
James and Dolley Madison left Washington, DC in 1817 anticipating a peaceful retirement in Montpelier. Little did they know what life had in store for them or that Dolley would end up returnin…
Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1849
We continue our examination of the life and legacy of Dolley Madison with a discussion with Hilarie Hicks, Senior Research Historian at James Madison's Montpelier. In this episode, we talk abo…
Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1809
Born in a Southern log cabin, the woman who would go on to be the center of social life in the nation's capital developed her skills of charm and entertainment through formative years filled w…
Content Note: This episode mentions the topic of suicide.
Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1810
The Madison administration experienced numerous setbacks and embarrassments in the latter part of 1809. The President's private sec…
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
The arrival of the new British Minister to the US, Francis James Jackson, was not necessarily seen as a good omen by the Madison administration for the prospect of healing the rift between the…
Year(s) Discussed: 1809
When the British government learned of the Erskine Agreement, it was not best pleased. In the summer of 1809, the Madison administration scrambled to deal with the ramifications of the British resp…
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
A new congressional session provided an opportunity for the President and his wife to make their mark on the Washington political and social scene as they invited guests into the refurbished …
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
In the first couple of months of his presidency, Madison not only dealt with a domestic political dispute but also managed to negotiate an agreement with the British Minister to the US to res…
Year(s) Discussed: 1809
Though James Madison was seen as being Thomas Jefferson’s successor, it became clear starting with his inauguration that his presidency would be different from his predecessor’s, for better or wor…
Year(s) Discussed: 1785-1809
After scoring some key political victories in Virginia, Madison decided to lead an effort to reform the government of the United States. However, he would find that getting the Constitutional…
Year(s) Discussed: 1653-1785
As part of a family that had been on a steady rise in society since its earliest days in the Virginia colony, James Madison, Jr. was expected to do great things from the time of his birth, bu…
