Reviews the perceptions, policies, and decisions made and acceded to by James Madison as secretary of state and as president that resulted in the War of 1812, and includes pertinent illustrative documentation. Bibliography.

"Interlacing humor into his ongoing narrative, Robert Allen Rutland provides in The Democrats a readable, balanced account of how the Democratic party was founded, evolved, nearly died, and came back in the twentieth century, flourishing as a political melting pot despite numerous setbacks. This updated version of Rutland's much-heralded The Democrats: From Jefferson to Carter provides new insight into the long hiatus in the Democrats' presence in...

Covers all major events of the Madison administration, including the War of 1812 and the push for national expansion.