As for its foreign policy, Washington designed, together with Alexander Hamilton, the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Great Britain, to withdraw from the western forts and resolve the remaining financial debts of the Revolution. John Jay negotiated and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. Washington and Hamilton mobilized public opinion and won ratification in the Senate, emphasizing Washington's support. The British agreed to deviate from their forts around the Great Lakes, subsequently, the US-Canada border had to be readjusted, numerous debts prior to the revolution were liquidated and the British opened their colonies in the West Indies for trade with America. The most important thing is that the treaty delayed the war with Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with that country. The treaty enraged the French and became a central issue in many political debates.
In his Farewell Address, Washington advised friendship and trade with all nations, but cautioned against participating in European wars and entering into long-term "entanglements" of alliances.
James Madison, on the other hand, was not conciliatory as Washington was about his foreign policy.
Serving as Jefferson's secretary of state, Madison oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the country. Madison became president after Jefferson and was re-elected in 1813. He presided over a prosperity that lasted several years. After a failure of diplomatic protests and a commercial embargo against the United Kingdom, he led the United States to the War of 1812 against Britain. The war was a disastrous decision, since the country did not have a strong army, nor a strong financial system.
