The War of 1812
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59. Note of Lord Holland and Lord Auckland, December 31, 1806, in SD (M30), reel 10.
60. Quoted in Jacob Wagner to Timothy Pickering, July 21, 1813, in Pickering Papers (MHS), reel 30.
61. See Jefferson’s cabinet notes, February 3, 1807, (filed under March 5, 1806), in Jefferson Papers (LC), reel 35.
62. There is a good account of the Chesapeake affair in Perkins, Prologue to War, 140–49. For a more extended study, see Spencer C. Tucker and Frank T. Reuter, Injured Honor: The “Chesapeake”-“Leopard” Affair, June 27, 1807 (Annapolis, 1996).
63. Nicholson to Albert Gallatin, July 14, 1807, in Gallatin Papers (SR), reel 14.
64. For an analysis of the Orders-in-Council, see Perkins, Prologue to War, chs. 6–7, and Horsman, Causes of the War of 1812, chs. 6–8.
65. Quoted in Perkins, Prologue to War, 69.
66. Quoted in Adams, History, 2:486.
67. William Lee to ST, May 22, 1812, in Gallatin Papers (SR), reel 24; Perkins, Prologue to War, 206–7, 304–7.
68. Charles Francis Adams, ed., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, 12 vols. (Philadelphia, 1874–77) (December 29, 1809), 2:92.
69. See American Ships Seized by Danish Privateers, October 16, 1809, George Erving to SS, June 23, 1811, and Report of the Secretary of State, July 6, 1812, all in ASP: FR, 3:332, 521, 584.
70. The best overview of the restrictive system is Herbert Heaton, “Non-Importation, 1806–1812,” Journal of Economic History 1 (November, 1941), 178–98. There are also good treatments in Adams, History; Perkins, Prologue to War; and Horsman, Causes of the War of 1812.
71. Boston Independent Chronicle, reprinted in Washington National Intelligencer, December 11, 1805.
72. The law is printed in AC, 9–1, 1259–62.
73. The law is printed in AC, 10–1, 2814–15. There are several good books on the embargo, each of which approaches the subject from a different angle. See Louis M. Sears, Jefferson and the Embargo (Durham, 1927); Walter W. Jennings, The American Embargo, 1807–1809 (Iowa City, 1921); and Burton Spivak, Jefferson’s English Crisis: Commerce, Embargo, and the Republican Revolution (Charlottesville, 1979).
74. Speech of John Randolph, April 14, 1808, in AC, 10–1, 2136.
75. Perkins, Prologue to War, 160–63.
76. ST to Jefferson, July 29, 1808, and Jefferson to ST, August 11, 1808, in Jefferson Papers (LC), reels 41 and 42.
77. See AC, 10–2, 1798–1804. For an excellent analysis of this law, see Leonard W. Levy, Jefferson & Civil Liberties: The Darker Side, 2nd ed. (New York, 1973), ch. 6. Levy’s study is a compelling analysis of Jefferson’s disregard for civil liberties. The “Preface to the Paperback Edition,” which examines the reception of the first edition, is a remarkable commentary on the profession’s attachment to Jefferson at the time.
78. Nettels, Emergence of a National Economy, 396.
79. See Jennings, American Embargo, chs. 7–9.
80. John Armstrong, quoted in Perkins, Prologue to War, 166. For the impact of the embargo abroad, see Jennings, American Embargo, 70–93, and Sears, Jefferson and the Embargo, 276–301, 312–17.
81. Horsman, Causes of the War of 1812, 141–42; Clifford L. Egan, Neither Peace nor War: Franco-American Relations, 1803–1812 (Baton Rouge, 1983), 97.
82. Robert Ferguson, quoted in Horsman, Causes of the War of 1812, 143.
83. The law is printed in AC, 10–2, 1824–30.
84. For more on the Erskine Agreement, see Perkins, Prologue to War, 210–20.
85. The act is printed in AC, 10–2, 2582–83.
86. Quoted in Perkins, Prologue to War, 246.
87. Egan, Neither Peace nor War, 120–22.
88. AC, 11–3, 1338–39. The legislative history of this bill is significant because it marked the first time that the previous question was successfully invoked to cut off debate. See AC, 11–3, 1091–95.
89. Adams, History, 2:321–26; Burt, United States and Great Britain, 292–95; Perkins, Prologue to War, 274–82.
90. See documents in Dudley and Crawford, Naval War, 1:41–49, and ASP: FR, 3:471–99. See also Adams, History, 2:313–21; and Perkins, Prologue to War, 271–73.
91. Quoted in Perkins, Prologue to War, 273.
92. Donald E. Graves, ed., Merry Hearts Make Light Days: The War of 1812 Journal of Lieutenant John Le Couteur, 104th Foot (Ottawa, 1993), 139n16.
93. Niles’ Register 2 (March 7, 1812), 5.
94. For an illuminating discussion of Harrison’s role in this massive land grab, see Robert M. Owens, Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy (Norman, 2007), esp. xxiv and chs. 3, 4, and 7.
95. There are two excellent studies of the Shawnee leaders by R. David Edmunds: The Shawnee Prophet (Lincoln, 1983), and Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership, 2nd ed. (New York, 2007). For a more extended—and more speculative—treatment of Tecumseh, see John Sugden, Tecumseh: A Life (New York, 1997). For the primacy of the Prophet (as opposed to his more famous brother) before 1811, see R. David Edmunds, “Tecumseh, the Shawnee Prophet, and American History: A Reassessment,” Western Historical Quarterly 14 (July, 1983), 261–76.
96. William Henry Harrison to SW, July 10, August 6, and August 7, 1811, in Esarey, Messages of William Henry Harrison, 1:533, 544, 549; McAfee, History of the Late War, 17.
97. Harrison to SW, July 2, 1811, in Esarey, Messages of William Henry Harrison, 1:526.
98. SW to Harrison, July 17 and July 20, 1811, and Harrison to SW, August 7 and August 13, 1811, ibid., 1:535–37, 550, 554; McAfee, History of the Late War, 18–19.
99. Harrison to SW, November 18, 1811, in WD (M221), reel 44; McAfee, History of the Late War, 18–36; Gilpin, The War of 1812 in the Northwest, 16–19.
100. R. I. Snelling to William Henry Harrison, November 20, 1811, in WD (M221), reel 44; Alfred A. Cave, “The Shawnee Prophet, Tecumseh, and Tippecanoe: A Case Study of Historical Myth-Making,” Journal of the Early Republic 22 (Winter, 2002), 637–73.
101. Harrison to SW, May 6, 1812, in WD (M221), reel 45.
102. Trenton True American, December 2, 9, 16, 1811, and January 6, 1812; Salem Essex Register, December 21, 1811; Concord New-Hampshire Patriot, December 24, 1811.
103. Lexington Reporter, November 23, 1811, and March 14, 1812. See also ibid., May 23 and 30, 1812.
104. The best analysis of Republican thinking on the eve of the war is in Roger H. Brown, The Republic in Peril: 1812 (New York, 1964). Another thoughtful, although more diffuse study, is Steven Watts, The Republic Reborn: War and the Making of Liberal America, 1790–1820 (Baltimore, 1987).
105. William Plumer to John Quincy Adams, August 18, 1812, in Plumer Papers (LC), reel 2.
106. Lexington Reporter, December 10, 1811.
107. Philip S. Klein, ed., “Memoirs of a Senator from Pennsylvania: Jonathan Roberts, 1771–1854,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 62 (April, 1938), 240; Speech of John C. Calhoun, May 6, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 1399. See also Speech of Nathaniel Macon, January 4, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 661.
108. Washington National Intelligencer, November 7, 1811; A. McLane to Peter B. Porter, February 28, 1812, in Porter Papers (BEHS), reel 2. See also Philadelphia Aurora, October 26, 1812; Jonathan Roberts to Matthew Roberts, April 12, 1812, in Roberts Papers (HSP).
109. John Binns to Jonathan Roberts, May 5, 1812, in Roberts Papers (HSP); Felix Grundy to Andrew Jackson, December 24, 1811, in Jackson Papers (LC), reel 5; Jonathan Roberts to Richard F. Leech, June 14–16, 1812, in Roberts Papers (HSP). See also Gideon Granger to John Tod, December 26, 1811, in Granger Papers (LC).
110. John W. Eppes, quoted in J. C. A. Stagg, “James Madison and the ‘Malcontents’: The Political Origins of the War of 1812,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser. 33 (October, 1976), 575. This is an excellent article on the political origins of the war.
111. The Annals of Congress and contemporary newspapers are filled with Federalist attacks on the restrictive system. For a sampling, se
e AC, 9–2, 157–58; AC, 10–1, 1704–6, 1850–54, 2118–25; AC, 10–2, 20–27, 29–35, 51–60, 767–79, 865–86; AC, 11–2, 1637–38, 1651–53, 1708–9; AC, 11–3, 910–32, 1011–27; New York Evening Post, December 26, 1811; Hartford Connecticut Mirror, February 10, 1812; Chillicothe Supporter, February 29, 1812; Philadelphia United States’ Gazette, June 26, 1812; and Boston Columbian Centinel, July 25, 1812.
112. Plumer to John A. Harper, April 27, 1812, in Plumer Papers (LC), reel 3; Gerry to JM, May 19, 1812, in Madison Papers (LC), reel 14. See also John G. Jackson to JM, March 30, 1812, ibid., reel 13; John Binns to Jonathan Roberts, May 3, 1812, in Roberts Papers (HSP).
113. JM to South Carolina House of Representatives, January 8, 1812, in Madison Papers (LC), reel 13.
Chapter 2. The Declaration of War
1. Boston Independent Chronicle, September 30, 1812; Washington National Intelligencer, November 7, 1811; Salem Essex Register, October 30, 1811. For similar sentiments, see Philadelphia Aurora, October 26, 1811; Concord New-Hampshire Patriot, October 29, 1811; and Worcester National Aegis, November 6, 1811.
2. The best guide to party affiliation in the War Congress is Kenneth C. Martis, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989 (New York, 1989), 81. Martis’s breakdown corresponds to my own, which I worked out on the basis of voting records and speeches and published in “The Federalists and the Coming of the War, 1811–1812,” Indiana Magazine of History 75 (March, 1979), 82–88.
3. Jonathan Roberts to William Jones, May 24, 1812, in Jones Papers (HSP).
4. The standard work on the Old Republicans is Norman K. Risjord, The Old Republicans: Southern Conservatism in the Age of Jefferson (New York, 1965). See also William C. Bruce, John Randolph of Roanoke, 1773–1833, 2 vols. (New York, 1922); and Russell Kirk, John Randolph of Roanoke (Chicago, 1951). The Old Republicans are sometimes called the “Tertium Quids” or simply the “Quids,” meaning a third thing or party. Contemporaries applied the term Quid to several different Republican factions, but (except for occasionally allying with Federalists in state politics) these factions had little in common. For an illuminating discussion of this subject, see Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., “Who Were the Quids?” Mississippi Valley Historical Review 50 (September, 1963), 252–63.
5. There is no monograph on the Clintonians, but for a good introduction, see Steven E. Siry, De Witt Clinton and the American Political Economy: Sectionalism, Politics, and Republican Ideology, 1787–1828 (New York, 1990).
6. For a good analysis of the “Invisibles,” see John S. Pancake, “The ‘Invisibles’: A Chapter in the Opposition to President Madison,” Journal of Southern History 21 (February, 1955), 17–37. See also John S. Pancake, Samuel Smith and the Politics of Business: 1752–1839 (University, AL, 1972); Frank A. Cassell, Merchant Congressman in the Young Republic: Samuel Smith of Maryland, 1752–1839 (Madison, 1971); and Dice R. Anderson, William Branch Giles: A Study in the Politics of Virginia and the Nation from 1790 to 1830 (Menasha, WI, 1914). For a good illustration of the “Invisibles”’ hostility to Gallatin, see speech of William Branch Giles, December 17, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 47–51.
7. [Jonathan Roberts] to ———, February 3, 1812, in Roberts Papers (HSP).
8. Although the term War Hawk is closely associated with the War of 1812 and is sometimes attributed to anti-war critic John Randolph, it had been in general use for at least twenty years. The Boston Gazette used the term on May 7, 1792, and over the next two decades it appeared in the American press more than 100 times.
9. Scholars differ over who (if anyone) ought to be classified as a War Hawk. My list is traditional. It includes those House members who were outspoken proponents of war and supplied leadership to the war movement. Harry W. Fritz makes a good case for the traditional group in “The War Hawks of 1812,” Capitol Studies 5 (Spring, 1977), 25–42. For alternative views, see Reginald Horsman, “Who Were the War Hawks?” Indiana Magazine of History 60 (June, 1964), 121–36; Roger H. Brown, “The War Hawks of 1812: An Historical Myth,” ibid., 137–51; and Ronald L. Hatzenbuehler, “The War Hawks and the Question of Congressional Behavior in 1812,” Pacific Historical Review 45 (February, 1976), 1–22. My critique of Hatzenbuehler’s work, as well as his reply, can be found in Pacific Historical Review 45 (November, 1976), 642–45.
10. William Reed to Timothy Pickering, February 18, 1812, in Pickering Papers (MHS), reel 30.
11. AC, 12–1, 330.
12. John A. Harper to William Plumer, December 2, 1811, in Plumer Papers (LC), reel 3.
13. A correspondent from Washington, quoted in Boston Columbian Centinel, November 16, 1811.
14. Philip S. Klein, ed., “Memoirs of a Senator from Pennsylvania: Jonathan Roberts, 1771–1854,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 61 (April, 1938), 230. See also Jonathan Roberts to Alexander Dallas, December 19, 1813, in Dallas Papers (HSP).
15. Albert Gallatin, notes on president’s message [Fall, 1811], in Madison Papers (LC), reel 26.
16. JM to Congress, November 5, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 11–15. Quotation from p. 13.
17. Philadelphia Aurora, November 7, 1811; Worcester National Aegis, November 27, 1811. For similar sentiments, see Petersburg (VA) Republican, reprinted in Lexington Reporter, December 17, 1811; Benjamin Rush to James Monroe, November 8, 1811, and John Adams to Monroe, December 19, 1811, in Monroe Papers (LC), reel 4; Henry Dearborn to Monroe, November 14, 1811, in Monroe Papers (NYPL).
18. Josiah Quincy to Harrison Gray Otis, November 8, 1811, in Otis Papers (MHS).
19. Four of the nine committee members were War Hawks: Porter, Calhoun, Grundy, and Harper. Two other members—Joseph Desha and John Sevier—are sometimes classified as War Hawks and could be counted on to support war measures.
20. Lowndes to Elizabeth Lowndes, December 7, 1811, in Lowndes Papers (UNC), reel 1. See also William A. Burwell to Wilson Cary Nicholas, December 29, 1811, in Nicholas Papers (LC); Felix Grundy to Andrew Jackson, November 28, 1811, in Jackson Papers (LC), reel 5; Alexandria Herald, reprinted in Richmond Enquirer, December 10, 1811.
21. Report of the House Foreign Relations Committee, November 29, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 373–77. Quotation from p. 376.
22. Speech of Peter B. Porter, December 6, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 417.
23. AC, 12–1, 419–20, 545–48, 565–66.
24. AC, 12–1, 556–57, 560–66; Washington National Intelligencer, December 17, 1811; Baltimore Whig, reprinted in Philadelphia Aurora, December 18, 1811.
25. Letter from a Federalist, January 6, 1812, reprinted from Alexandria Herald in Richmond Enquirer, January 23, 1812.
26. Speech of Daniel Sheffey, January 3, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 635. See also speech of William Branch Giles, December 17, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 44; Timothy Pickering to Samuel W. Dana, January 16, 1812, in Pickering Papers (MHS), reel 14; Samuel Taggart to Rev. John Taylor, January 20, 1812, in Mary R. Reynolds, ed., “Letters of Samuel Taggart, Representative in Congress, 1803–1814,” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 33 (October, 1923), 376–77.
27. Thomas R. Gold to Nathan Appleton, [December, 1811?], in Appleton Papers (MHS); Harmanus Bleecker to Henry D. Sedgwick, December 27, 1811, in Sedgwick Papers (MHS). See also Josiah Quincy to Harrison Gray Otis, November 8 and 26, 1811, in Otis Papers (MHS); James Milnor to Samuel Bradford, December 10, 1811, in Bradford Papers (HSP); William Reed to Timothy Pickering, January 20, 1812, and Samuel W. Dana to Pickering, January 30, 1812, in Pickering Papers (MHS), reel 30; James A. Bayard to William H. Wells, January 12, 1812, in Donnan, Papers of James A. Bayard, 188; Samuel Taggart to Rev. John Taylor, December 14, 1811, in Reynolds, “Letters of Samuel Taggart,” 370. For a fuller analysis of Federalist strategy in the War Congress, see Hickey, “Federalists and the Coming of the War,” 70–88.
28. For Federalist votes on these measures, see Hickey, “Federalists and the Coming of the War,” 84–86. See also Nathaniel Macon to Joseph H. Nicholson, January 10, 1812, in Nicholson Paper
s (LC).
29. AC, 12–1, 33, 566–67, 2227–28. The new cash bounty was actually $16 plus three months’ pay. Privates were paid $5 a month. For the old bounty (which was set in 1802), see AC, 7–1, 1309.
30. AC, 12–1, 85, 99, 112, 192–93, 691, 697, 800–801, 1035–36, 2229–37, 2267–69.
31. See JM to Jefferson, February 7, 1812, in Madison Papers (LC), reel 13; James Monroe to John Taylor, June 13, 1812, in Monroe Papers (LC), reel 5; Jonathan Roberts to Matthew Roberts, December 20, 1811, in Roberts Papers (HSP); speeches of Joseph Anderson, December 17, 1811, and George W. Campbell, December 18, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 54–84.
32. Speech of William Branch Giles, December 17, 1811, in AC, 12–1, 35–54.
33. See debate in AC, 12–1, 728–801.
34. See Report of House Committee, January 2, 1806, Ebenezer Huntington to Benjamin Tallmadge, January 5, 1810, and Resolutions of Kentucky Legislature, February 8, 1812, in ASP: MA, 1:189, 263–66, 318; Hartford Connecticut Mirror, February 17, 1812.
35. AC, 12–1, 195, 1004, 1021, 1040, 1084–85, 1298.
36. Speech of Langdon Cheves, January 17, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 803–22; SN to Cheves, December 3, 1811, in ASP: NA, 1:248–52.
37. John Adams, quoted in Edmund Quincy, Life of Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts, 4th ed. (Boston, 1868), 248; Philadelphia Aurora, February 27, 1812.
38. Speech of Josiah Quincy, January 25, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 949–68. Quotation from p. 957. Almost every Federalist newspaper in the country (and many Republican ones, too) carried Quincy’s speech.
39. Speech of Adam Seybert, January 18, 1812, in AC, 12–1, 830, 833. For the rest of the debate on naval expansion, see AC, 12–1, 859–1005.
40. AC, 12–1, 164, 999. Lloyd’s speech in support of his proposal is in AC, 12–1, 131–47. This speech was widely reprinted in the press, and in pamphlet form an edition of 12,000 copies sold out in Boston. See Philadelphia United States’ Gazette, June 1, 1812.
41. AC, 12–1, 1002–4.