America’s First Wartime Election: James Madison, DeWitt Clinton, and the War of 1812

American Presidential Elections

by Donald A. Zinman

As the heir apparent to the presidency in 1808, James Madison had a substantial reputation and an impressive list of credentials, including having cofounded the Democratic-Republican party with Thomas Jefferson and serving as Jefferson’s secretary of state. Despite this, Madison’s presidential victory in 1808 was hardly uncontested as he faced internal opposition from supporters of James Monroe and Vice President George Clinton. In 1812, then, it was by no means a sure thing that Madison would secure a second term, and that uncertainty grew substantially after Madison essentially asked Congress for a declaration of war on June 1, 1812, mere months before the election.

America’s First Wartime Election focuses on an overlooked moment in political history. The War of 1812 has generated a significant amount of attention, overshadowing the election that took place in the early stages of the conflict. As the United States and Great Britain clashed on the battlefield, President James Madison was challenged by DeWitt Clinton, the nephew of George Clinton, who was the simultaneous mayor of New York City and the lieutenant governor of his state. Clinton held a base of Democratic-Republican support in New York where many in his party opposed the war. Many New Yorkers also resented Virginia’s domination of the presidency going back to George Washington’s tenure. Other Democratic-Republicans supported the war but faulted Madison for his poor preparations and early battlefield setbacks. United in their opposition to the war, Federalists joined forces with Clinton, but the alliance was tardy, disorganized, and awkward.

The story of this election is also a tale of weak political parties. The Federalist party had steadily lost strength since the election of Jefferson in 1800, and the Democratic-Republican party was still a young, disjointed, and fractious coalition. In order to sustain the party that he had helped to start, Madison was under pressure not only to secure his reelection but also to successfully conduct the war. While Madison had vulnerabilities, given America’s poor preparation for the war, the fusionist ticket supporting Clinton was poorly positioned to challenge the incumbent president. Political parties in general were still in their infancy, thus complicating efforts to build a coherent alternative to Madison. For a fusion ticket to succeed in elections, strong political parties are necessary, which was not the case in 1812. Red-hot passions over the divisive War of 1812 overlapped with a presidential election that became a referendum on the conflict itself. Momentum is important in politics—a principle that was just as important over 200 years ago as it is today.

Written for scholars, students, and the public alike, Donald A. Zinman’s accessible study of this important but often ignored election is another illuminating entry in the University Press of Kansas’s longstanding American Presidential Elections series.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2024

Reviews

[Earl Ecklund III · Rating 5 out of 5]

The election of 1812 is often overlooked in history books due to the outbreak of war with Great Britain earlier in that year. In this book Donald A. Zinfandel sheds lights on this fascinating campaign which ultimately was decided by Pennsylvania overwhelming voting for James Madison over the challenger DeWitt Clinton.

What is remarkable about this election is that it was the first in American history to occur during wartime, that Madison's opponent was a fusion candidate who combined a majority of the Federalist party with a faction of the Democratic-Republican party. The Federalist party was largely on its last legs in 1812 and used opposition to the war to enjoy a brief revival in some local and state elections.

The fact that Clinton was not universally supported by all the Federalist as well as the late timing of the fusion by the two sides also contributed to Madison's victory.

This book does an excellent job of explaining how early American presidential elections worked in contrast to the relatively orderly affairs of today. Zinman also does a great job of examining the legacy of the election which includes the creation of the Erie Canal, the rise of Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson and the end of the Federalist party.

I highly recommend this much needed addition to the literature on American Presidential history.

[Frank Duke · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that was hard to follow, perhaps because of the period it covered. I am used to histories that are essentially written chronologically; this seemed to be more thematic causing me to constantly re-read a section that described something I had not read in the book -- only to find the details of that thing at a later point in the book. The geographic details of the counties in some states carried by the two candidates seemed excessive; it was interesting that Madison carried the New England counties that bordered Canada while losing the states, but knowing the counties in Maryland carried by each candidate without any reference to the area of the state was simply boring.