In his annual message to congress in 1815, James Madison supported a nationalist agenda and the Federalists belief that the federal government should do what is necessary to promote economic growth. This agenda was very different from the Democratic-Rebublican Party belief that the role of the national government should be limited and control should be more with the local governments. Madison’s agenda in his annual message proposed a national bank, federal aid for the building of roads and improving transportation, and a tariff to protect American manufacturers from foreign competition. Madison’s nationalist agenda would later be called the American System. During Madison’s last year of the presidency, the Democratic-Republican congress
