James Madison may have been one of the most brilliant of the early leaders of the republic, but as you can see by his portrait, he was mostly serious and humorless. Madison was elected into office in March of 1809, and in 1810, new, young men were elected to Congress. These men wanted war, and later became known as the "War Hawks", which ultimatley brought the war of 1812 on the US. The US won the war, ending it with the Treaty of Ghent (1814) and the Rush-Bagot Agreement. During the end of the wartime period, the Hartford Convention occurred. Under Madison, the industrial economy grew and transportation boomed. On Madison's last day in office (March 3rd, 1817), he vetoed the internal improvements bill, explaining that he believed that Congress lacked authority to fund the improvement without a constitutional amendment.