[160]
Randolph recruited Monroe, who had felt betrayed by the administration's rejection of the proposed Monroe–Pinkney Treaty with Britain, to challenge Madison for leadership of the party.[161] Many Northerners, meanwhile, hoped that Vice President Clinton could unseat Madison as Jefferson's successor.[162] Despite this opposition, Madison won his party's presidential nomination at the January 1808 congressional nominating caucus.[163] The Federalist Party mustered little strength outside New England, and Madison easily defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney in the general election.[164]

Presidency (1809–1817)
Main article: Presidency of James Madison
James Madison as President, engraving by David Edwin from between 1809 and 1817
Inauguration and cabinet
On March 4, 1809, Madison took the oath of office and was inaugurated president with George Clinton as vice president. Unlike Jefferson, who enjoyed relatively unified support, Madison faced political opposition from previous political allies such as Monroe and Clinton. Additionally, the Federalist Party was resurgent owing to opposition to the embargo. Aside from his planned nomination of Gallatin for secretary of state, the remaining members of Madison's Cabinet were chosen merely to further political harmony, and, according to historians Ketcham and Rutland, were largely unremarkable or incompetent.